March 10, 2019 at 11:36PM
For a little while longer, at least, Aggie sports fans are on their own.
An improved N.C. A&T men's basketball team finished the regular season without cheerleaders to rally home crowds. The squads were grounded for the remainder of the school year amid one cheerleader's allegations that she was raped last fall by a former member of the A&T marching band.
More significantly, neither of A&T's cheerleading coaches works there anymore.
The two co-head coaches — Adjoa Botwe-Rankin and Wenalyn Bell Glenn — resigned two weeks ago. And this obviously was no coincidence.
The cheerleader who made the sexual assault allegations (the News & Record does not publish names of sexual assault victims) said she had reported the incident to the coaches who, she said, did not take them seriously.
Further, she said, the coaches did not report the incident to A&T's Title IX coordinator, per school policy and federal guidelines — and she demanded that they be fired. Title IX is a federal law that bans gender discrimination in education.
The coaches' sudden departures suggest that the school is taking seriously the need to fix a process that Chancellor Harold Martin has acknowledged is not working as it is supposed to. Martin said in a letter to "The Campus Community" on Feb. 13 that school's efforts to prevent sexual assault, support survivors and meet the requirements of Title IX "have proven inadequate."
Martin also created a committee of students, faculty and staff to "make recommendations to me to be acted upon this semester."
That means soon. The last day of classes is May 2.
This has been a disturbing and extraordinary case. The freshman cheerleader who has made the sexual assault allegations went public on social media in February following what she described as a lack of an urgent response by school officials. But the broader response on campus makes it clear that this is not about just one case.
It's not so much a matter of "she said/he said" as it is "they say." A&T students are saying, loudly and clearly, that their school can and should do better.
This was evident when the cheerleaders donned black and sat in the stands in silent protest during Feb. 11 home basketball games. And it was evident in a lengthy list of recommendations from A&T's Student Government Association that was attached to the chancellor's Feb. 13 letter. It lists several thoughtful proposals, including:
Create a board of sanctioning officers — but not university administrators, "who generally lack the knowledge necessary to adjudicate these cases and their stake in protecting the school's public image suggests a conflict of interest."
Establish a gender-based violence response office that is available around the clock.
Hire qualified professional staff to work as investigators to work as investigators of sexual assault cases.
Publish statistics on reports and investigations of campus sexual assaults.
As seriously a Martin has taken this issue, A&T students have been the driving force. Banners throughout campus proclaim the slogan "Aggies Do."
And they sure did. They spoke out. They stood firm. They demanded change.
And odds are they will get it.
For a little while longer, at least, Aggie sports fans are on their own.
An improved N.C. A&T men's basketball team finished the regular season without cheerleaders to rally home crowds. The squads were grounded for the remainder of the school year amid one cheerleader's allegations that she was raped last fall by a former member of the A&T marching band.
More significantly, neither of A&T's cheerleading coaches works there anymore.
The two co-head coaches — Adjoa Botwe-Rankin and Wenalyn Bell Glenn — resigned two weeks ago. And this obviously was no coincidence.
The cheerleader who made the sexual assault allegations (the News & Record does not publish names of sexual assault victims) said she had reported the incident to the coaches who, she said, did not take them seriously.
Further, she said, the coaches did not report the incident to A&T's Title IX coordinator, per school policy and federal guidelines — and she demanded that they be fired. Title IX is a federal law that bans gender discrimination in education.
The coaches' sudden departures suggest that the school is taking seriously the need to fix a process that Chancellor Harold Martin has acknowledged is not working as it is supposed to. Martin said in a letter to "The Campus Community" on Feb. 13 that school's efforts to prevent sexual assault, support survivors and meet the requirements of Title IX "have proven inadequate."
Martin also created a committee of students, faculty and staff to "make recommendations to me to be acted upon this semester."
That means soon. The last day of classes is May 2.
This has been a disturbing and extraordinary case. The freshman cheerleader who has made the sexual assault allegations went public on social media in February following what she described as a lack of an urgent response by school officials. But the broader response on campus makes it clear that this is not about just one case.
It's not so much a matter of "she said/he said" as it is "they say." A&T students are saying, loudly and clearly, that their school can and should do better.
This was evident when the cheerleaders donned black and sat in the stands in silent protest during Feb. 11 home basketball games. And it was evident in a lengthy list of recommendations from A&T's Student Government Association that was attached to the chancellor's Feb. 13 letter. It lists several thoughtful proposals, including:
Create a board of sanctioning officers — but not university administrators, "who generally lack the knowledge necessary to adjudicate these cases and their stake in protecting the school's public image suggests a conflict of interest."
Establish a gender-based violence response office that is available around the clock.
Hire qualified professional staff to work as investigators to work as investigators of sexual assault cases.
Publish statistics on reports and investigations of campus sexual assaults.
As seriously a Martin has taken this issue, A&T students have been the driving force. Banners throughout campus proclaim the slogan "Aggies Do."
And they sure did. They spoke out. They stood firm. They demanded change.
And odds are they will get it.