Mr. Jones, you have got some nerve.
For those who haven't followed the case, a female UI student was allegedly sexually assaulted by two Hawkeye football players on the night of October 14, 2007. Shortly after the incident, the victim reported the incident to her RA, who reported it to the office of Student Services (Jones' department).
The logical thing for Jones and the Student Services Department to have done would have been to report the case to the police. For whatever reason (protecting the reputation of an already disreputable football team), the department deliberately chose not to involve either the Iowa City or the University Police.
This is only the first mistake Mr. Jones made. Between the time of the alleged assault and the reporting of the assault, the victim was confronted and threatened with violence or worse by two other UI football players. When Jones learned of this, he once again had the chance to introduce police involvement to the case.
He did not.
The only action taken by Jones' against anyone involved in the incident was the sending of two letters to the football players who made threats against the alleged victim.
At least they were stern letters, right? Right, Jonesy?
Not so much. Jones' letters were nothing more than copies of the UI's anti-retaliation policy. Furthermore, there was no follow-up with the harassers or their family, in any form, written or otherwise.
When this was all revealed and mulled over before the Iowa State Board of Regents, it's no surprise that many were calling for the immediate ousting of Jones.
What is a surprise is that Jones feels he's done nothing wrong. Not only did he turn down a chance to resign his post honorably, offered to him by UI President Mason, but he is now suing the university for wrongful termination.
As I was saying, Jonesy, you have some nerve.
Jones' argument for his unemployment stems from the fact that the entire case was handled informally, a decision that Jones himself may have had a part in. As such, Jones' actions were not subject to any standard guidelines usually in place for a sexual assault investigation. Therefore, Jones didn't break any rules. By his reasoning, he didn't do anything wrong.
It's obvious that Jones never intended to be a logician. Although it is true that the entire incident was handled unofficially and therefore was not subject to any strict guidelines, Jones can't seem to wrap his head around the fact that a woman was sexually assaulted and he, from a strictly moral standpoint, did not give her the justice she deserved.
He had a chance after he was told of the assault to involve the police.
He did not.
He had a chance to involve the police after learning of the victim's harassment at the hands of two other football players.
He sent the harassers a letter (and a far from stern one at that).
He had a chance to stand before the university, admit his wrongdoings, and leave his position with some remaining dignity.
He refused.
While Phillip Jones may have felt that he got the short end of the stick, I personally feel that he got off easy. His reaction to this case is scarily similar to several 2002 incidents, where Jones sent several stern letters to the parents of students found to be in possession of alcohol.
So humor me, Jonesy, how is that even close to acceptable?
Is it a mortal sin that college kids like to get drunk? Not really. Were Jones' actions over the line? Absolutely not. This is an example of a perfectly reasonable response.
The main difference is that no one had their lives drastically altered in those incidents. An innocent woman was sexually assaulted and threatened with further assault if she told anyone of her unfortunate encounter. A letter, stern or not, is not an acceptable form of punishment.
So congratulations, Jones. You have successfully undone years of work to build up the reputation of this great university and its compassion for its students. You have acted in the most apathetic of manners to an innocent young woman who had her life drastically changed last October. You have shown no regard for what is expected of your position, the bare minimum apparently suffices in your opinion.
Good bye, Phillip Jones, former VP of Student Services for the University of Iowa.
Good luck with that little lawsuit of yours.I'm sure the judge will agree that there wasn't a single damn thing you could have done.
Furthermore, have fun explaining this situation to the other universities who are considering employing you, I'm sure this will be one hell of a story for them.
Finally, thank you for being such a wonderful representative of our university. Thanks to you, our administration has reached a new level of shameless.
You have some nerve, Phillip. Good bye and good riddance.
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Thanks to the Daily Iowan for sources.
much respect
josh
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