Letter: Errors in campus climate article

November 19th, 2009 | By Justin Thomas Assistant Professor of Theater | Section: Opinion

There is misrepresentation of the comments I made to the S&B regarding the number of cases of sexual assault reported in the climate assessment. This mistake was published in your story entitled “Campus Climate assessment brings to light the concerns of marginalized groups.” I mentioned that roughly 30 percent of our community (a little over 700) completed the campus climate survey. Of those who completed the survey, 28 people reported that they had been sexually assaulted, which is roughly four percent of those who responded. The published story mistakenly reports that 30 percent of the people who responded to the survey had been sexually assaulted, which is not what the data supports. We must be clear about what the climate assessment data demonstrates. With that said, in no ways do I mean to lessen the trauma felt by those 28 members of our community who report they have been sexually assaulted. Four percent is four percent too many.