Disclaimer, this article contains mentions of sexual violence.
Associated Students Take Back the Night, in collaboration with representatives of the survivor of the recent rape and strangulation in campus housing, hosted a candle light vigil in Greek Park to raise awarness about sexual violence on May 26. Speakers shared their frustration with UC Santa Barbara administration’s handling of the case, with some calling it an “inherent conflict of interest.”
Maho and the family have asked Chancellor Dennis Assanis to request the help of the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office in the investigation, but according to Maho, they have not spoken as of the vigil. Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus
On May 9, a first-year UCSB student was raped and strangled in campus housing. According to Tyrone Maho, the attorney representing the survivor and her family, the survivor and perpetrator met at a party in the Sigma Pi fraternity house before going to Tropicana Gardens where the assault took place.
The vigil began at 7:30 p.m. with around a dozen people standing in a circle and holding flameless candles in their hands. Associated Students (A.S.) Take Back the Night (TBTN) is a student group that is dedicated to ending sexual violence. TBTN co-chairs and history of public policy and law and sociology double majors, fourth-year Kayla Goodin and third-year Cameron Curtin, spoke first, expressing solidarity with all survivors of sexual violence and sharing resources such as Campus Advocacy, Resources & Education (C.A.R.E.).
“Hopefully this case can be handled properly and survivors don’t have to suffer through the systems of violence anymore,” Goodin said in an interview with the Daily Nexus. “There were over three interpersonal violence incidents over the same weekend that don’t have the same kind of publicness of it, because it’s not just the [publicity] that makes it matter. It’s a culture shift that needs to happen at UCSB.”
Curtin and Goodin then led attendees in a minute of silence “to commemorate survivors of interpersonal violence, and [their] collective power.” Following this, C.A.R.E. Advocate Stephanie Hernández Carbajal briefly shared resources that her office offers such as 24/7 confidential mental health support.
Next, Maho commended TBTN for its work advocating for campus safety and organizing the vigil. He then shared that the survivor has been “suffering through this” and “working closely” with the UC Police Department (UCPD) in its investigation.
“Events like this remind survivors that they are not alone, and they remind all of us of our shared responsibility to confront sexual violence in our communities,” Maho said.
Maho and Claytor said that UCPD investigating the crime was an “inherent conflict of interest” because its “first duty of loyalty is to the University.” Shengyu Zhang / Daily Nexus
Because the crime occurred in campus housing, UCPD has jurisdiction over the investigation. Maho and the family have asked Chancellor Dennis Assanis to request the help of the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Office in the investigation, but according to Maho, they have not spoken as of the vigil.
“Campus Police is a very small department, and our Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department is a much bigger department with many more detectives and the ability to conduct a quick, thorough and immediate investigation so that this person is apprehended and our community is made safer,” Maho said. “[UCPD] maintain they’re able to do this investigation. We support them in that investigation. We just want them to have the resources to do that.”
Maho and Michael Claytor, the family’s investigator, said they repeatedly tried to contact Assanis, including at one point going to his office in Cheadle Hall only to be told to speak to the Office of Campus Counsel. According to Maho, University legal counsel instructed him to “not communicate with the chancellor anymore.” Claytor added on by describing the University as “non-responsive.”
In a previous statement to the Nexus, University Spokesperson Kiki Reyes stated that legal counsel had “responded multiple times” to Maho and that “UCPD has been in direct contact with the survivor’s family since the early stages of the investigation.”
“Federal law and university policy prevent us from discussing specifics of a case,” the email read. “We remain fully committed to protecting the privacy of the survivor and their family while providing them with continuous support and resources.”
According to Goodin and Curtin, they had a meeting with Assanis, other administrators, UCSB Police and A.S. executives on May 22 about campus safety and the May 9 rape and strangulation. They shared their dissatisfaction with the University’s handling of the case and minimal actions taken such as building campus safety infrastructure like cameras. Goodin and Curtin noted that Assanis expressed that he wanted to “work more collaboratively” with TBTN and they are working on setting up a meeting between him, the survivor and her family.
Curtin and Goodin led attendees in a minute of silence “to commemorate survivors of interpersonal violence, and [their] collective power.” Shengyu Zhang / Daily
“The law is that the jurisdiction stays with the University police by state law unless the University invites an outside agency to come in. The outside agency can’t just jump in and that is a problem,” Maho said in an interview with the Nexus. “[The University should] ask for help. There [are] very experienced investigators in the Sheriff’s department that could come in and help. And they should do it. The guy’s still at large, it’s been two weeks.”
Maho concluded the vigil by expressing hope for increased community and institutional support for survivors of sexual violence in the future.
“Change begins when people refuse to look away, when institutions are challenged to do better and when survivors are met with support rather than silence,” Maho said. “Tonight’s vigil is about hope. Hope that through advocacy, education and collective action, we can create campuses and communities where sexual violence is not tolerated, and where survivors are treated with compassion, respect and justice.”
UCSB Police Department is actively investigating the crime and urges anyone who may have information that might assist its investigation to contact UCSB Police Department at 805-893-3446, or report the information anonymously on their website.
The Nexus will continue to report on this topic as more information becomes available.
