Every year, NCC comes out with its annual security and fire safety report. This year’s report garnered attention on social media as well as with the Chicago Tribune.
James Godo, the assistant vice president of external affairs and special assistant to the president, said the report gains attention every year in different ways.
The statistics in the report show that the number of rapes reported at NCC has increased in 2017. On campus property in 2015, there were two instances of rape. Then in 2016, there were four and in 2017 there were six reported.
It’s important to note that the security reports are made up of individual reports that can vary in where they come from and how they are acted upon. Some are anonymous, others are investigated and a few lead to disciplinary action. However, all of the numbers are reflected in the annual report’s statistics.
According to Kimberly Sluis, the vice president of student affairs, this number often fluctuates. These numbers are a product of a developing “come forward” culture.
“I think we see that number (of rape reports) increasing because we are creating a culture where people can come forward. There are other institutions that find themselves really proud if that number is zero. They’re not being honest with themselves,” Sluis said.
The culture of coming forward and bystander education is something that the campus has expanded over the years. The college has many different resources for those involved in any kind of sexual violence.
One example is Green Dot, which focuses on bystander education. According to Sluis, bystander education is the single most proven way to reduce violence on college campuses. This is something that the school focuses heavily on.
Another example of this is happening during pre-campus efforts for students. Each student goes through an online program dealing with issues such as consent and sexual assault.
The school has a victim services director, Jessica Vasquez, who serves as a confidential resource for faculty, staff and students. NCC also has a full-time Title IX officer available to students.
“I am a resource available to students on campus. We can sit and talk about all of their experiences and talk about what kind of path they can take,” Vasquez said. “Whether this is making reports or not making reports, getting protective measures, going to the police, or getting medical attention. It’s my role to help them get the resources they need.”
As another resource on campus, the Title IX office is allowing NCC to expand the possibility of available services.
“I think that these numbers (in the report) suggest that students feel comfortable coming to us to get that support. Something really positive about North Central is that we have a lot of resources and students feel comfortable enough talking and reporting,” Vasquez said.
While discussing topics like this on the college level, Vasquez said that it is important to note that we know that things such as rape and dating violence are happening. This isn’t something that is being ignored.
The Wellness Center is also helping to create conversations regarding instances of violence and solutions.
“Our Wellness Center is also spearheading a bunch of initiatives on violence,” Sluis said. “(A couple weeks ago) walking around campus you would see different things on domestic violence awareness week. That’s all an effort to raise awareness and make it more likely that people will seek support.”
With a campus that provides many resources, options are an important part of creating an environment that recognizes the problem and seeks to remedy it.
“There’s a lot of avenues to come forward, the confidential victim’s advocate is really important if you’re not sure you want to make a report to the institution that has your name attached. This avenue is really important because it’s a starting point for someone who’s not sure,” Sluis said.
The resources and conversations available make it so that victims at NCC can choose where they feel comfortable and make a supported decision on how they want to proceed with the situation. Sluis emphasized that the process was entirely a student-driven operation.
Among the chatter about the report this year, some students and alumni have responded to the situation via social media.
Students and alum on social media platforms react to these statistics and how they seem to stand out from the perception that Naperville is one of the safest places to live. Specifically, the articles that come out addressing Naperville as safe and ranked as one of the best places to raise a family.
Elizabeth Baumgartner, ’17, shared the post and explained that while the college always felt safe to her, it is important to “realize that NCC is a private college which has a little over 3,000 students in attendance.”
Baumgartner also brought up the fact that this report does not include unreported instances of rape or assault. She went on to explain how college campuses handle instances of rape and sexual assault and the small loophole that can create problems if the accused student does not attend a hearing before transferring or leaving the college.
In addition to this, people react with how this reflects the severity of sexual assault and college consent issues more broadly in America.
Sluis stated that her door is always open for conversation to anyone who is concerned, especially regarding this topic. Given NCC’s location in the middle of Naperville, it may contribute to the reaction.
“People perceive Naperville to be very safe, so a news article that casts (it) in a different direction can seem attractive to people,” Sluis said.
Editor’s note: Campus Safety 24-hour hotline: 630-637-5911
