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The observer | WEDNESDAY, MARCH 10, 2021 | ndsmcobserver.com
Alumna Continued from page 1
At t he t ime of t he a lleged assau lts, Grimes sa id, Ga i l la rdet z was in a longdista nce relat ionship w it h his current w ife, a nd Gr imes considered Ga i l la rdet z not hing more t ha n a f riend. The t wo had become f r iend s i n it ia l ly t h roug h t hei r sha red i nterest i n t heolog y a nd spi r it ua l it y, but Gr i mes sa id she c ut of f t hei r f r iend sh ip a f ter t he second a l leged a ssau lt. “He had broken t he covena nt; t he covena nt w a s t hat we were absolutely f r iend s,” Gr i mes told T he Obser ver. On t he n ig ht of t he f i rst i ncident, Gr i mes sa id she w a s pla n n i ng on goi ng to a Ha l loween da nce w it h her f r iend s, but Ga i l la rdet z i nv ited her over to h i s apa r tment for a d i n ner w it h a few col leag ues before t he da nce. A f ter t he ot her d i n ner attendees lef t, t he nex t t h i ng Gr i mes remember s i s bei ng i n Ga i l la rdet z’s bed room. She a l leged he per for med ora l sex on her t hen w it hout her con sent.
Berges Continued from page 1
Berges is a communications studies major w ith minors in PR and advertising who hails from Fairfield, Connecticut. On ca mpus she cu r rent ly ser ves a s t he co-cha i r of t he St udent Gover n ment A ssociat ion’s (SG A) ma rket i ng a nd socia l med ia com m it tee. Dev it t is a speech la ng uage pat holog y major w it h a gerontolog y m i nor f rom L aGra nge, I l l i nois. She cu rrent ly ser ves a s SG A’s socia l l i fe co-cha i r. Bot h women a lso have t r i-ca mpus col laborat ion ex per ience t h roug h ser v i ng on Da nce Ma rat hon. If elected, t he pa i r w i l l work to i mprove t ra nspa renc y a nd com mu n icat ion bet ween st udent s a nd adm i n ist rat ion, Berges sa id. “I t h i n k it’s been goi ng ver y wel l si nce [Col lege President] Kat ie Conboy got here,” she sa id. “We t h i n k a lot of st udents rea l ly l i ke t he i mprovements t hey ’re seei ng, but we u ndersta nd t hat t here’s a lways room for i mprovement a nd we just wa nt to keep t hat conversat ion goi ng.” Berges a nd Dev it t empha si zed t hei r i ntent to not on ly be t he voice of t he st udent body but a lso to be act ive l isteners. “[T h roug h] not wa it i ng for g i rls to come to us, but us goi ng to t hem,” Dev it t sa id. “I t h i n k t hat’s ou r f i rst [act ion item] a nd t hat w i l l be t he ea siest but t he best.”
A f ter t he f i r st a l leged a ssau lt, Gr i mes sa id she felt so much sha me she decided to go to con fession. For her pena nce, t he pr iest adv i sed her to a sk Ga i l la rdet z for forg iveness. “I t h i n k we were sit t i ng i n t he Hudd le or somet h i ng t a l k i ng over lu nch, a nd I w a s gag ged out apolog i z i ng to h i m, a nd now I t h i n k, I apolog i z ed to my rapi st,” Gr i mes sa id. “A nd he looked at me l i ke I w a s cra z y bec au se clea rly he w a sn’t sor r y. He d id n’t go to con fession.” A f ter t he f i r st i ncident, Gr i mes sa id she empha si z ed to Ga i l la rdet z she d id not wa nt repeated sex ua l contact. Yet one nig ht in ea rly December, Grimes a l leged Ga i l la rdet z bu l lied her into going upsta irs to her bedroom, despite repeated ref usa ls. Once t hey were upsta irs, Ga i l la rdet z per for med ora l sex on her aga in a nd dema nded t hat she per for m ora l sex on him too. “It made me gag, but I went a long w it h it,” Gr imes sa id. Vice president for public a f fa irs a nd communicat ions Pau l Brow ne sa id t he Universit y administ rat ion
w i l l ask Boston Col lege to sha re t he f indings of t he independent invest igat ion into Gr imes’ a l legat ions t hat may relate to Not re Da me. A f ter spending yea rs ref lect ing on t he a l leged assau lts, Gr imes sa id, she decided to come for wa rd w it h a l legat ions a f ter she hea rd Ga i l la rdet z had been spea king about t he cler ica l sex ua l abuse cr isis as a t heolog ia n. “He is pretending to be pa r t of t he solut ion when he’s pa r t of t he problem,” Gr imes sa id. In her v ideos, Gr imes accused Ga i l la rdet z of enabling a nd per pet rat ing ecclesia l rape cu lture, which she sa id is a ra mpa nt problem w it hin t he Cat holic Church. She sa id t he power imba la nces embedded in Cat holic sett ings g ives r ise to abuse. “A Cat holic hig her educat ion li ke Not re Da me combines t he rape cu lture of a l l hig her educat ion schools w it h t he rape cu lture of t he Cat holic Church,” Gr imes sa id. W hen she was a doctora l student at Not re Da me, Gr imes believed t he t heolog y depa r t ment to be “ver y ma ledominated,” a nd she sa id t his
cont r ibuted to a da ngerous cu lture. Brow ne sa id in a n ema i l t he Universit y rejects Gr imes’ cha racter i zat ion of t he Not re Da me t heolog y depa r t ment in 1987 a nd t he asser t ion t hat Cat holic col leges a nd universit ies a re havens for sex ua l abuse. “Not re Da me va lues each indiv idua l, a nd has no tolera nce for sex ua l ha rassment or assault,” Browne wrote. In 1991, while Grimes was a student at Notre Dame, Fr. James Burtchaell, a professor of theology and provost, resigned from the faculty amid charges of sexual misconduct with male undergraduates. Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder was a full-time theology faculty member at Notre Dame from 1984 until his death in 1997. In 1992, eight victims came forward with a statement detailing Yoder’s history with sexual misconduct. However, allegations against Yoder had been circulating for years prior to the public complaints, the first of which surfaced in the 1970s. In the second video of the series, Grimes also alleged Gaillardetz had later admitted
to her in an email in 1998 that he had sexually abused a student during his first teaching position in Texas. “In this case, it’s both sexual abuse and spiritual abuse because you are a religious leader,” Grimes said in the video, addressing Gaillardetz directly. Grimes hopes Gaillardetz recognizes the hurt he has caused her. “The only chance he might repent is if he’s brought to public justice,” Grimes said. “But even if he won’t, we really need to educate the society, the Church in particular about what this is and get justice and safety, first for his present students, and get justice if there have been any [other victims] in the past.” Although Grimes strongly believes the culture of the Church should be reformed, she said she still leans on her faith to work through her trauma. She even filmed her allegation v ideos in her ow n home chapel. “My fa it h is ever y t hing,” Gr imes sa id.
By ut i l i zi ng open commu n icat ion a nd act ive l isten i ng bet ween st udents a nd ad m i n ist rators, Berges a nd Dev it t hope to enact some of t hei r key plat for m poi nts, wh ich i nclude t he i mprovement of menta l hea lt h resou rces by enha nci ng SMC Ca re — a 24hou r telehea lt h ser v ice lau nched ea rl ier t h is yea r — establ ish i ng more g r ief a nd a n x iet y g roups a nd i nf usi ng socia l a nd emot iona l con nect iv it y. A not her key element of t hei r plat for m is t he ex pa nsion of women’s hea lt h advocac y at t he
Col lege. “I mea n we go to a n a l l women’s col lege, a nd I feel women’s hea lt h is not ta l ked about enoug h,” Berges sa id. T hey hope to ex pa nd on brea st sel f-ex a m i nat ion i nfor mat ion sheet s i n dor m showers, k nowledge of t he on-ca mpus g y necolog ist, host g uest spea kers a nd establ ish suppor t g roups to open t he conversat ion more, Berges sa id. Berges a nd Dev it t emphasi zed t hei r desi re for Sa i nt Ma r y ’s st udent s to f i nd t hei r place i n t he g reater t r i-ca mpus com mu n it y.
“We recog n i ze t hat t here is a t r i-ca mpus a nd a lot of good t h i ngs come f rom it, l i ke doi ng combi ned clubs a nd act iv it ies, but we a lso just wa nt to ma ke su re t he ident it y of Sa i nt Ma r y ’s stays posit ive,” Berges sa id. Dev it t loves bei ng pa r t of t he t r i-ca mpus com mu n it y, she sa id. “Somet i mes I t h i n k t he t r i-ca mpus com mu n it y overshadows t he one Un iversit y, a nd somet i mes ou r big one Col lege overshadows bei ng pa r t of t he t r i-ca mpus commu n it y,” Dev it t sa id. “A nd I
t h i n k somet i mes we don’t f u l ly use t hose oppor t u n it ies g iven to us. So I t h i n k we cou ld rea l ly empha si ze bot h.” If elected, Berges a nd Dev it t pla n to use t hei r pa ssion for t he Col lege a nd SG A to a mpl i f y a l l st udent voices. “Ever si nce ou r f i rst yea rs, we have looked up to SG A a nd event ua l ly joi ned to be t hose people for ot hers a nd to i nclude ot hers in t he ca mpus d ia log ue,” Berges said.
Contact Serena Zacharias at szachari@nd.edu
Contact Mia Marroquin at mmarroquin@saintmarys.edu
