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THE HAWK Oct. 7, 2015
The Student Newspaper of Saint Joseph’s University | Volume XCIV | Est. 1929 | www.hawkhillnews.com
Provost prepares to say goodbye Interim provost Reichard reflects on her time at Saint Joseph’s KATRYNA PERERA ’16 News Editor
Photo by of Matthew J. Haubenstein, M.A. ’17
LGBTQ alliance symbol vandalized
Safe Zone stickers torn down in Barbelin Hall STEPHANIE MIGNOGNA ’19 Special to The Hawk Amidst the energy of summer on Hawk Hill, Barbelin Hall was the location of several silent crimes involving the removal of stickers that support LGBTQ life on campus. A single hallway in Barbelin was the focus of the vandalism. Safe Zone signs attached to doors with tape were taken down, according to Kim Allen-Stuck, Ph.D., assistant vice president of student success and educational support. There were five reported incidents on July 9, July 16, July 31, Aug. 5, Aug. 31, and Sept. 5, according to Mark Lemon, public safety investigator. When the crimes were regularly occurring, public safety assigned an hourly watch in the targeted hallway of Barbelin, Lemon said. Safe Zone stickers are a part of the Saint Joseph’s Alliance movement. The Saint Joseph’s University Alliance organization is a volunteer committee comprised of students, staff, faculty and administrators who support tolerance and respect for the LGBTQ community within the contexts of the Roman Catholic Church and the mission of the university as a Jesuit educational institution. Safe Zone stickers and signs are given to individuals that complete a two-hour training course qualifying them as a “safe zone” member. The stickers and badges one receives upon the completion of the program signal to others that these people can be trusted to discuss issues concerning homosexuality or sexual orientation without judgment. The Safe Zone program, which has been active at St. Joe’s for 13 years, has never had a comparable incident to the recent vandalization, said Allen-Stuck. “Having run this for thirteen years, I’ve never had anyone
say they needed their safe zone placard replaced because it had been defaced,” Allen-Stuck said, adding, “No one has the right to take away someone else’s right to support people.” There seemed to be little to no pattern in terms of the removal of the stickers, Allen-Stuck said. If there were twenty doors in a hallway and ten of those doors had Safe Zone signs, roughly half of the signs were removed, leaving some doors untouched. “I do believe that [public safety] knows who the person is,” said Allen-Stuck, in regards to the crime. She also said she believes the individual is currently going through a judicial process at the university. According to Lemon, public safety has come up with a few leads as to who the individual is and the Office of Public Safety has been in communication with the Office of Community Standards. Lemon also said that in his time at St. Joe’s, he has never experienced anything similar to this situation. “All seven [incidents] are being classified as vandalism, because the stickers were all removed, torn up, and discarded in a trash can on that floor,” Lemon said. There are numerous Safe Zone signs and stickers throughout campus but the only reported removal of the signs was in the hallway in Barbelin, Lemon said. Lemon says that he expects to have more information on the developments of public safety’s leads on the matter within the next few weeks. There has been no reported destruction of safe zone stickers in recent weeks, public safety officials said.
“I’m certainly very ready to go back to my retirement,” said Interim Provost Rosalind Reichard, about her imminent departure from her position as chief academic officer of Saint Joseph’s University. Reichard, who became interim provost in June of 2014, is expected to leave at the end of this academic year once a permanent provost is chosen. Reichard said that when she accepted the position of interim provost, she was already retired, but she chose to come back to academia because of the institutional values that St. Joe’s embodies. “It’s a wonderful school, and I was retired, and they needed some help,” Reichard said. “I really believe strongly in institutions like this one with a religious affiliation of some sort. I think that gives it a strength and a focus on serving the community that I really, really appreciate, [and] our way of working so closely with students.” Reichard, who has strong past experience with university adminstration, believes she was originally chosen for the her work with faculty and university governance. Before arriving at St. Joe’s, Reichard was the president at Emory and Henry College in Virginia, and the provost at Meredith College in North Carolina. She was also an academic dean at Elon University in North Carolina. Reichard arrived at St. Joe’s during a time of confusion and unrest for the university, and said she knew she had work to accomplish while here. “It was pretty clear when I came on campus what I was needing to do,” said Reichard. “[But] I think we have made great progress, we now have a Continued PROVOST, pg. 3
Photo courtesy of Melissa Kelly