**Content Warning: This article contains mentions of sexual assault.**
UMass Boston Police sent an email to the student body Friday, March 24, regarding the report of an indecent assault and battery on one of the campus shuttles that evening. The assault occurred on the shuttle bus departing from JFK/UMASS station to Peninsula Apartments across from the University.
What upset students the most was how UMass Boston Police addressed the matter in their email. Thoughts that the email was victim-blaming started circulating shortly after its release. The Mass Media attempted to contact the UMass Boston Police for comments but was directed to other offices, and the department failed to comment on the incident.
First-year commuter student, Hanna Mahboub, expressed their thoughts and concerns over the email to Mass Media. “I believe the email was in poor taste and was very much leaning towards a victim-blaming perspective rather than a sympathetic perspective by including topics [such as] ‘situational awareness.’ Assault can happen regardless of whether or not you are situationally aware, how many people are around or your gender identity.”
Mahboub further explained that the UMass Boston Police missed a great opportunity to teach the student body practical ways to protect themselves from perpetrators instead of just “copying and pasting” information from a guidebook. As a result, her faith in the UMass Boston Police system dropped significantly.
“A perpetrator is there for their own gain and nothing else. They simply do not care what you do, they want what they want. It’s their selfish needs over the humanity and dignity of anyone else. In this day and age, it’s not logical to be situationally unaware that the sexual needs of others will override everything, and as sad as it is, we must recognize it. This is what should’ve been addressed, not the garble of blameless ‘copy and paste’ information that we could find on a bulletin board we’d ignore at University Hall. The UMass Boston Police Department had a real chance to tell us real ways to protect ourselves in situations where we feel gutturally in danger but chose otherwise, and in my opinion that’s a huge missed opportunity. I don’t have faith that campus police will actually know how to respond when or if I ever get assaulted commuting to and from school. I feel like I’ll just be talked at and be handed the terms and conditions.”
The victim of the assault reached out to The Mass Media to give their statement on the issue. Wishing to stay anonymous, the victim walked the interviewer through their experience with the UMass Boston Police handling the issue. “They initially did respond well and sent me a bunch of campus safety information. However, it pretty much ended there. The school-wide email was okay, but I don’t think much good will come out of it considering they still don’t know who it was that grabbed me. They also have the camera footage as well as a small lead that I know of but that didn’t help me whatsoever…”
“I just called the police immediately, not so much because I was bothered or uncomfortable, but mostly because I want the guy to be caught and in trouble so it doesn’t keep happening. I also spoke to someone in the office of the Dean of Students, and she told me similar incidents have happened before which just lowers my faith in UMass Boston’s ability to handle anything.”
The victim further expressed how they didn’t feel safe taking the school’s transportation system any more, and stated that they are now searching for a personal vehicle due to the incident and their interaction with the UMass Boston Police.
“I don’t feel as safe any more taking the university shuttles, but I truly don’t have a choice because I work late hours in the city and it’s unrealistic to Uber or ask anyone for rides or [for someone] to come with me. That’s why it’s more disappointing that the police didn’t do anything, and now I’m searching for a car! I just don’t have trust in the UMass Boston police as is; I don’t feel the need to reach out to them for assistance. I just feel like I need to do it myself at this point.”
The UMass Boston Police stated in their email to the student body that the investigation is underway and encouraged students to reach out with any information they might have regarding the assault. The Mass Media is also open to students who wish to have their accounts heard and recognized. The staff encourages all students to reach out so we can help to the best of our ability.