The Oracle WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015 I VOL. 53 NO. 71
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UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
USF under federal investigation, accused of mishandling sexual assault case
By Alex Rosenthal LI F E STYLE
Contemporary Art Museum displays a new take on an old medium. Page 4
Montage
S PORTS Holston Jr. overcomes doubts, becomes D-1 player. BACK
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C H I E F
Sexual assault investigations have climbed to national attention in recent months, with cases like Jameis Winston’s at Florida State ranking high on the list of 95 universities under scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) — USF was added to this list in September. Under the DOE, the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) is investigating if USF “failed to provide
prompt and equitable responses to sexual harassment or sexual violence complaints,” whether any failures subjected any students to “a sexually hostile environment” and if the university retaliated “by taking her off the work schedule after she reported the sexual violence.” As first reported by the Tampa Bay Times, the accuser said the university failed to properly investigate her case, in which she claimed to have been sexually assaulted as a student in February.
While the woman didn’t report the incident to the police, fearing they wouldn’t act because she was in a relationship with the man who assaulted her, she told officials at the university. In both an investigation and an appeal, the university found “no cause” for the allegations of sexual harassment, sexual battery and retaliation due to insufficient evidence, according to the Times. In an interview with The Oracle, the 22-year-old woman said she appealed the univer-
sity’s investigation to the OCR, which started an official Title IX sexual violence investigation Sept. 3. Though the woman wanted anonymity as a victim of sexual assault, she told The Oracle her story of her sexual assault “wasn’t fully told in the report.” *** Before the alleged assault last February, she was dating a man at her on-campus job.
n See ASSAULT on PAGE 2
Employers search for enthusiastic Bulls By Chelsea Mulligan S T A F F
W R I T E R
USF Career Services will kick off this semester’s three-day job fair with an event for all majors today, followed by a fair for STEM majors Thursday and a fair for accounting majors Friday. All three fairs will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Marshall Student Center Ballroom. Russell Coughenour, assistant vice president of Career Services, said the strong showing from employers at the all-majors fair is a promising sign for students. “That is the biggest job fair we do each year. We are sold out. There’s going to be approximately 100 companies that are going to be in the Ballroom,” he said. “It’s actually going to spill out outside the Ballroom.” Coughenour said the employers are coming out for the spring recruiting season, with many of them trying to fill summer internship positions as well as full-time positions. “I think it reflects favorably on — number one — the job market
that currently exists for May 2015 graduates,” he said. “Number two — it favorably reflects on the brand that USF has with employers.” Approximately 1,200 to 1,500 students visit the fair throughout the day, though Coughenour said he hopes for 2,000 students to turn out this year. Coughenour said that prior knowledge about employers is important for students who want to make a good impression, encouraging students to show elevated interest in potential employers. “I think what you want is a student who looks like they’ve been waiting months for this employer to appear on campus, just so they can talk to them about the opportunity,” he said. “I’m thinking that if students really look through the list of companies, they should be able to find at least eight to 10 organizations that they could get excited about interacting with.” In order to stand out from the crowd, Coughenour said students should maintain professionalism and enthusiasm.
n See JOB on PAGE 3
More than 100 companies will seek student employees at the job fair in the Marshall Student Center Ballroom over the next three days, starting today at 10 a.m. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION/SEBASTIAN CONTENTO