Cal Poly’s University Police Department issued an alert today of an alleged sexual assault in Poly Canyon Village on Thursday, May 12.
This afternoon, University Police received a report of a rape occurring in Poly Canyon Village and have since been investigating. According to the alert, which was emailed to students this afternoon, the suspect has been identified but is not in custody.
University Police and University Housing representatives were unauthorized to comment further at the time of press, however University Police confirmed the timely warning they released Friday afternoon.
According to the press release sent out by University Police Department, the victim reported that she was raped in her room in Poly Canyon and was intoxicated and unconscious when the incident occurred.
In an email from President Jeffrey Armstrong, he expressed his concern for the victims as well as the seriousness with which he and his administrative team are taking the assault. He said a new goal of his is to establish a task force to “examine how we can create a culture that does not tolerate sexual assault, that never blames the victims of sexual assault, and that works to minimize alcohol and drug abuse.”
In a phone interview, Armstrong said he is particularly looking forward to what the task force has to say, and recalled the death of Carson Starkey, when Cal Poly learned from tragedy.
“We certainly learned from that tragedy and we learned from this tragedy but we need to be proactive,” he said. “(We need to) look at our community and how we can prevent this and how we can, again, look at our culture and move ahead such that this type of thing doesn’t happen.”
History senior Kyle Rosso, who works with the Gender Equity Center as well as the Sexual Assault-free Environment Resource Program (SAFER), said that more than anything he is proud of the victim for coming forward and reporting the assault.
“Often times reported assaults occurred weeks or months ago, or they go unreported at all,” he said. “I’m really proud of the survivor here.”
Rosso emphasized the help and support that can be found in the Gender Equity Center and with SAFER.
“We have so many resources for those affected by the assault and those who have been victimized,” he said. “Maybe now people will realize that we’re here and will look to us for help to prevent things like this.”
This is the second reported rape to be reported in a week. On Saturday, May 7, a college-age woman reported being raped at the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity house. The fraternity is currently on a cease and desist order and are not allowed to meet or hold gatherings until the investigation is complete.
Armstrong said the incidents in the past week are not consistent with the character of Cal Poly and he still believes the university is safe.
“This is not Cal Poly,” Armstrong said. “This is not who we are and we need to work to prevent this type of thing from happening. We just need to work to understand what’s going on, why this is occurring. I feel for those that have been hurt by what’s happened. My heart goes out to both young women.”
University Police’s press release can be found here and more information can be found by calling UPD at 805-756-2281.