We Want Answers: Field Report from Student Lead Protest
Content Warning: This article contains content related to sexual assault and other topics that may be triggering. The names of students that attended the protest will also not be included for the purpose of protecting their identity.
The President’s Office released a statement early last week that addressed the current lawsuit regarding an alleged sexual assault that occurred between two professors off-campus, Ernesto Moralez, Assistant Professor, and Co-chair of Public Health, and “Jane Doe.” The statement was released directly after the lawsuit went public. Students voiced their concerns about not having any prior knowledge about the investigation that happened earlier in the year. Many students took the time to educate themselves on the current situation and read the lawsuit from front to back. The findings addressed in the lawsuit angered students and raised questions of concern about their well-being and safety. To confront President Kate Morris and the administration at St. Lawrence University, students took to the streets to get answers.
PHOTO CREDIT: ALDEN TIMM ‘25.
As students marched to President Kate Morris’s residence, they held signs that read, “Protect Victims, not Rapists.” President Kate Morris, along with Hagi Bradley, Rance Davis, Kimberly Flint Hamilton, Tara Tent, Karl Schonberg, Kira Royce, Laura Lavoie, Colleen Manley and Kim Asch, started by saying, “The question that you asked is why is this the first time that we’re hearing about this?” She replied, “And the reason that I sent out the message as I did is that I thought it was important for students to hear it from the university instead of some other source. That the university had been named in a lawsuit, we were not trying to sweep this incident under the rug in any way, shape, or form.” President Morris also added that she didn’t feel that it was good practice to alert the entire campus on an ongoing investigation on an “alleged” assault.
The email rubbed students the wrong way because it seemed rushed, did not provide all the information they needed to feel safe on campus, and did not provide them with the reassurance that they were looking for. Kate Morris added, “You all had a swift and negative reaction to my email, and I apologize for that in my announcement… this is a learning community, and we all learn, and I learn as well. I have most definitely learned from you all this week.” President Morris also made it clear that there are two defendants in the lawsuit, Ernesto Moralez and St. Lawrence University. The university is, in no way, shape, or form, legally representing Ernesto Moralez. Ernesto Moralez will be responsible for defending himself against the plaintiff.
The university’s defense is about how the university responded to the incident. Students demanded answers and here they are:
Student: “the PDF leaked by the law firm included tweets from as far back as 2005 alleging that Ernesto had sexually assaulted other people. They also talked about how a private investigator reached out. If a private investigator came up to me and said this person has prior allegations with underaged students, people like me and even people who are underaged, because there are students there who are under 18, are at risk.”
Answer: Colleen Manley, “Yes, we did a background check, but those allegations did not come up.”
Student: “When were the allegations made known to the university?”
Answer: Kimberly Flint-Hamilton, “I think it was around the middle of April.”
Student: “Why didn’t the university provide all the information in the initial statement to the students?”
Answer: Kate Morris, “I regret that I didn’t provide all of the information when I sent the notification to the students. I am sorry for that.”
Student: “Was Jane Doe told she couldn’t have a lawyer during the investigation process?”
Answer: Kimberly Flint-Hamilton, “There are different processes for investigations, and it got confused. She was allowed to have an attorney during the interview process.” “But maybe I misspoke earlier when I said she was never told that she couldn’t have a support person, she wrote back to me and asked me to check and I did and I said, “you are correct you are allowed to have an attorney during the interview process”.
Student: “Why were you (Kimberly Flint-Hamilton) the point of contact for Title IX instead of a Title IX coordinator?”
Answer: Kimberly Flint-Hamilton, “The previous Title IX coordinator had retired, and President Fox was getting ready to leave the University, I wasn’t a member of the initial team, but when the person was in the role left that role, I was asked to step in, so I was asked to step in.”
Student: “Why didn’t the university inform the student body about the allegations as soon as they found out?”
Answer: Hagi Bradley, “Legally, we cannot talk about an ongoing investigation. We cannot just throw out information about an investigation and what’s going on. It is up to the courts to figure out if we followed the process and procedures given to us by the federal mandates.”