By Lev D. Zilbermints
SOUTH ORANGE – Protecting Pirates, a newly created student group on the Seton Hall University (SHU) campus is taking action against SHU for not doing enough to protect sexual assault survivors.
On April 24, SHU students and their allies protested outside the Farinella Gate on South Orange Avenue because the school did not approve the student protest. Photographs published in the Setonian show signs saying, “Seton Hall rapists work on campus,” “Rapists should not be RAs”, “Protect Pirates.”
According to the April 25 issue of the Setonian, SHU’s online newsletter, the protest was sparked by several sexual allegations over the years. Per Setonian, what made students speak out was the story of former student Emily Archibald, who shared on social media her experiences with the University’s response to her sexual allegations.
Seton Hall University’s Statement
According to the April 25 Setonian, University spokesperson Laurie Pine said that all student demonstrations on University property need prior authorization according to the student protest policy.
Pine said, “No student application was received for the April 24 demonstration. In addition, the policy states that participation is restricted to members of the university community. Public Safety’s role is to ensure that all campus activity align with the University policy.”
Pine said that the university was committed to ensuring a safe environment for its students, faculty, administration, visitors.
“Seton Hall thoroughly reviews all reports regarding any allegation of sexual misconduct, harassment, discrimination and/or retaliation. We do so in accordance with federal and state laws, as well as university policy, and most importantly, because it is essential to maintaining a community based on mutual respect and caring for every individual.
Equally essential is the need to maintain the integrity of all such reviews and protect the privacy of participants. Therefore, the University is unable to respond to – or correct – assertions or assumptions contained in online posts related to these reviews or their corresponding allegations,” said Pine.
“Local Talk” was able to contact Ms. Archibald by email and obtain a timeline of events as they occurred.
Emily Archibald Tells Her Story
According to information provided by Ms. Archibald, the rape took place on December 7, 2018. The alleged rapist was a freshman, an acquaintance who attended study groups and classes together. The rape was not reported when it initially occurred.
Ms. Archibald experienced a year-long harassment, texting and stalking by her rapist. This was 2018 – 2019.
During her sophomore year, 2019-2020, the rapist was a Resident Assistant employed by SHU at the dorm that Ms. Archibald resided in. According to Ms. Archibald’s account, the rapist made comments about her on her floor constantly. He also called to her room and instead was looking through her things. At this point, Ms. Archibald became afraid and paranoid because the rapist knew her room number. She stayed sheltered in her room when the rapist worked at the front desk. In order to ensure safety, Ms. Archibald stayed with a friend at Montclair State University.
Once COVID-19 hit in March 2020, contact stopped.
A year later, in April 2021, Ms. Archibald had an online module (SA training from Seton Hall University) that sounded similar to her story. All the unpleasant memories came back.
By August 2021, Ms. Archibald’s junior year, the rapist was promoted to be Resident Advisor for three upperclassmen dorms. This gave him access to more buildings. To make matters worse, the rapist was issued a master key to the three residence halls. He also was given access to a database with information about aa resident students.
At this point Ms. Archibald went to Head of Housing and gave details of the rape and subsequent harassment. The report was sent to Dean Karen Van Norman, Associate Vice President and Dean of Students, Deputy Title IX Coordinator at Seton Hall University.
Seton Hall Administration’s Response to Rape Allegations
According to the timeline of events provided by Ms. Archibald, she met with Dean Van Norman in May 2021. According to the timeline, Dean Van Norman indicated there were no witnesses and no evidence. The case could go forward, but would be difficult. Reportedly, Van Norman called it a “he-said-she-said” case. Ms. Archibald said that she felt that Van Norman was discouraging further reporting.
As a result of the meeting, a No Contact Order (NCO) was implemented between Ms. Archibald and the rapist. According to the timeline, this is a bilateral order which asserts that two students must not speak to one another or be in the vicinity of one another without necessity. The order does not prioritize complaint.
According to the Protecting Pirates member, Ms. Archibald was not told that the order would be dismissed if one party left school. The Protecting Pirates member said that it is “also purely academic in that they (Ms. Archibald and her rapist) simply couldn’t talk to each other outside of classes and student organizations. No other options for aid before an investigation besides this NCO, according to Seton Hall. Other universities have stronger NCOs which prioritize rape survivors – why doesn’t SHU?”
At the end of her junior year, May 2021, Ms. Archibald left Seton Hall University as a proximate result of mental health issues due to the lack of support she received.
According to SHU Policies and Procedures website, “Once a report is made, the University will initiate a prompt, thorough and impartial investigation of allegations, pursue effective and reliable procedures and remedies, and seek to protect the rights of those involved. A finding that a violation of this policy occurred is made by applying a preponderance of the evidence standard.”
Such is the law at Seton Hall University. In practice, however, students and allies say, something entirely different happens.
According to the April 25 issue of the Setonian, Emily Archibald said that she transferred after a University official allegedly talked her out of pursuing a Title IX investigation into the man she accused of assaulting her.
The Setonian reported in its April 21 online story that Dean of Students and Title IX Deputy Compliance Coordinator Karen Van Norman told students that the administration’s “hands are tied” because Emily Archibald is no longer a student at Seton Hall University. The dean made these remarks at a March 21 Town Hall Meeting organized by the 2021 – 2022 Student Government Association.
In the afternoon of March 21, Emily Archibald met with Title IX Coordinator Toni Hindsman and Chief Equity Officer Lori Brown to recount experiences with her rapist. According to the timeline provided by Emily Archibald, Toni Hindsman claimed she never received Emily’s report, and no one discussed the case with her.
Unanswered are questions as to where Ms. Archibald’s initial report was and why she had to tell the story of her rape a second time.
Petition by Protecting Pirates
In their online petition, Protecting Pirates make several demands of the Seton Hall University administration. The first is that faculty members take accountability. In other words, they should help rape survivors instead of discouraging them.
According to the petition, “Discouraging survivors from going forward with a campus investigation is not just unethical – it is a glaring violation of Title IX. Not only do we know that Emily (Archibald) was discouraged from requesting an investigation, we know that another student was told that “There is a difference between rape and explaining something” upon explaining that they were raped to the administration. These words are from you, Dean (Karen) Van Norman. We want you to apologize. And we want this apology to be followed by your resignation. This is a blatant attempt to invalidate the experience of a survivor and discourage an investigation. …”
The second demand in the petition is a new no contact order (NCO) with tiers, to the effect that different NCOs are appropriate for particular circumstances.
“A new NCO which prioritizes the needs of students requesting assistance on the basis of harassment, stalking, assault or rape must be made available. This NCO should prioritize the needs of the individual requesting it for their personal safety. These NCOs should be advertised promptly to those who have recently filed NCOs against others due to aforementioned reasons. Further, civil restraining orders must be advertised as an option to survivors who do not wish to pursue an investigation on or off campus.”
The third demand is for campus employees with reasonable allegations of physically harming others must be properly investigated.
The fourth demand is for a review board must be implemented so that students and faculty members have a voice in the process of hiring candidates for the Title IX roles at the University.
Current Situation
Ms. Archibald’s alleged rapist was until recently in charge of three dormitories. He resigned, but the resignation had nothing to do with rape allegations. In March 2022, Ms. Archibald’s online petition to fire Resident Advisors (RAs) that were subject to no contact orders received over 4000 signatures. Ms. Archibald posted about the situation on social media.
During the month of March 2022, Ms. Archibald met with Title IX officials and attended a Student Government Association Town Hall meeting. According to the timeline provided to “Local Talk,” many more students with the same issues as Ms. Archibald came forward. Questions were asked about Title IX, no contact orders against campus employees on basis of sexual violence and more. According to the timeline, faculty claimed that an investigation cannot happen without a complainant’s involvement. Faculty responded, “our hands are tied.”
Following the March 21 SGA Town Hall, SHU students started organizing. More rape and sexual assault survivors on campus whose cases were poorly handled stepped forward. According to credible sources, “a common trend seems to be that Dean Van Norman discourages investigations. One student noted requesting a No Contact Order from Dean Giglia, (Assistant Dean of Students, Deputy Title IX Coordinator), as her ex-boyfriend on campus had been stalking and harassing her. Dean Giglia asked repeatedly, “Are you sure you want to do this?” as if to discourage the student requesting aid.”
On April 20, 2022, Protecting Pirates announced a protest. Four days later, on April 24, Emily Archibald’s supporters surrounded the front gate of the university during an open house event. The protesters successfully warned prospective students and their families about the poor resources of Seton Hall administration to sexual assault reports.
Full Disclosure: Mr. Zilbermints attended Seton Hall University from August 1996 to January 1998. He then transferred to Rutgers-Newark to pursue his Masters in Political Science. Mr. Zilbermints graduated from Rutgers-Newark in 2005 with a Masters degree in Political Science.
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