Monday, August 25, 2014
Volume LVIII, Issue 2
sbstatesman.com
SBU under investigation for handling of sexual violence and assault cases
By Arielle Martinez Assistant News Editor
The United States Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is investigating Stony Brook University and 75 other colleges and universities across the nation for their handling of sexual violence cases, federal officials confirmed Thursday. The university is under investigation for its compliance with Title IX, a federal law that protects people from discrimination based on sex under any education program receiving federal funds. “We are aware that an individual filed a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights, and because it is a pending complaint we are unable to provide any additional information,” SBU’s media relations officer Lauren Sheprow said in an email. The investigation started on July 23, 2014, according to a document sent to The Statesman by the U.S. Department of Education. However, the department will not disclose any case-specific facts or details while the investigation is ongoing. On June 29, The Statesman published an article on Stony Brook University’s policies on sexual assault and harassment complaints. University policies forbid parties involved in sexual assault investigations from using recording devices or having legal counsel present during proceedings. The Office of Diversity and Affirmative Action (ODAA) collaborates with University Community Standards, which investigates Title IX complaints against students, and Employee and Labor Relations, which investigates complaints against faculty members and other university employees. On June 5, 2014, the university announced that Raúl Sánchez, the former senior director for Title IX and Risk Management, was replaced by Marjolie Leonard, the interim director of ODAA, after Sánchez was in the position less than a year. Continued on page 2
HEATHER KHALIFA / THE STATESMAN
Stony Brook Univeristy students return to residence halls in Mendelsohn Quad before classes start on Monday, Aug. 25. Freshmen moved in on Friday, Aug. 22 and attended orientation activites throughout the weekend.
NY SUNY2020 grant program raises Stony Brook student tuition By Ryan Wolf Staff Writer
For the 2014-2015 school year, both in-state and out-ofstate students at Stony Brook University will see increases in their academic tuition. Stony Brook’s out-of-state tuition rose from $17,810 in 2013-2014 to $19,590 for the 2014-2015 school year— an increase of 10 percent, according to the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics. For in-state students, the tuition for this school year increased to $6,170 from $5,870
in 2013-2014. The size of this increase was controlled by the New York state initiative known as NYSUNY 2020 Challenge Grant program, which came into effect in July 2011 and will end after the 2015-2016 school year. The initiative, according to the SUNY website, focuses on economic growth for New York state by providing SUNY University Centers with opportunities to gain additional funding for campus projects while limiting the amount by which schools within the SUNY system can raise their tuition from year to year.
SUNY schools can increase tuition for out-of-state students by up to 10 percent each year while tuition for in-state students can be raised by up to $300 annually. The out-of-state student tuition increased from $13,380 in 2010-2011 to $14,720 in 2011-2012. This trend continued with the 2012-2013 tuition increasing to $16,190. Meanwhile, tuition for instate students went from $4,970 in 2010-2011 to $6,170 for the 2014-2015 school year. According to the NYSUNY 2020 bill, the tuition increase limitations is intended to
provide students with a stable annual tuition increase and end unexpected tuition spikes which several students have experienced nationwide. “Parents and students could not predict or plan for their tuition expenditures,” Lauren Sheprow, the university’s media relations officer, said. “There were some years that tuition increased by more than 25 percent, and at times there was no increase for years.” Though the cost of academic tuition at Stony Brook University has been on the rise Continued on page 5
Influx of new students leads to more tripling in dorms By Jasmine Blennau Staff Writer
Most of the incoming freshmen and new transfer students that chose to live on campus will be tripled this academic year, according to Campus Residences. According to the Stony Brook Undergraduate Admissions website, “In order to offer as many students as possible the experience of our residential learning environment, strategies that include assigning three students to a double room and other temporary housing will be utilized.” Campus Residences acknowledges that “while some rooms will be detripled relatively quickly, it is possible that your room may not be detripled this academic year.” Detripling offers will be
determined by a lottery drawn of all tripled residents based on proximity to the vacancy. If a student is drawn from the lottery, they will receive the first space available nearest their tripled room. Chandler Cribe, a senior double major in biology and psychology, said that at the orientation fair, parents were told by Campus Residences staff that most of freshmen students will still be tripled by the end of the year. “Only one guy was really angry and said he was going to sue,” Cribe said about an orientation fair in July. “The rest of the parents were unhappy but weren't making that much of a scene.” Cribe said that staff resolved the situation. Alan S. deVries, the associate
director of Residential Programs for Administration and Services and director of Conference Housing, said that such instances are not the norm and that Campus Residences staff members are specifically trained to explain tripling to parents and students and to resolve roommate issues. The university is trying to make the tripling situation easier for students by providing some amenities. Students who are tripled will receive a 15 percent discount on housing ($565) for the semester. In order for tripled students to have a more positive experience, the university is providing lofted beds, a third desk and more bathroom cleaning to corridors and suite style tripled rooms. To make moving easier, when a
student is removed from a triple, a room change crew will help the student move to their new room. “Our Senior Staff retreat this year focused specifically on how we would organizationally work to maintain the quality of service provided to all residents, realizing that the increase in students [and] triples impacts every resident, even those not living in a triple room,” deVries said in an email. The lack of on-campus housing is due to the increase in housing renewals from returning students and the increase of enrollment into Stony Brook. Ninety percent of all freshmen currently live on campus, according to the Campus
Continued on page 5