Engstrom announces forums on sex assaults, ASUM debates parking

President Royce Engstrom announced three public, on-campus events to discuss the University of Montana's investigation into sexual assaults at Wednesday night's student government meeting.

Students, faculty, staff and administrators will address the issue at the next University Council meeting on Feb. 7. Engstrom said the University will give an update on the investigation, discuss the reporting of assaults and share resources available to students.

Engstrom also announced two student forums on the assaults to be held Feb. 17 and Feb. 22. He said administrators will work with the Associated Students of the University of Montana and others on campus to determine specific topics.

"We need to get an aggressive education program started," Engstrom said. "These are some initial steps. We need your help in guiding future steps."

Other steps include bringing Men Can Stop Rape — an organization dedicated to stop violence by reaching out to men — to campus in March for workshops and to organize a student chapter. He added that sexual assault will be addressed at freshmen orientations and that the University will discuss it with athletes and the student body on an ongoing basis.

"A long-lasting solution cannot be void of student input, and I feel heard in that with the meetings I've had with stakeholders," ASUM President Jen Gursky said, adding that she hopes the University will strongly address claims that rape is the female's fault. She was the only member of ASUM to comment on the assaults at the meeting.

CAMPUS PARKING

ASUM failed a parking initiative, however, a number of senators and students voiced opinions over a bill requesting that the ASUM Office of Transportation include advocacy for more parking as one of its initiatives. After more than an hour of debate, the bill failed, 7 to 14.

ASUM Business Manager Luke Sims called the resolution redundant because the Transportation Office's mission statement states that it will work on all transportation options.

However, ASUM Vice President Jeff Edmunds, who co-authored the bill, encouraged senators to pass it because action on parking has been stalled for years.

 "I've been approached by two people today who said they were more comfortable in their personal vehicles than on public transportation," he said. "For those two individuals alone, we should pass this resolution."

Others expressed the unfeasibility of adding more student parking. Former chair of the ASUM Transportation Board Patrick Rhea spoke during the public comment section of the meeting, stating that each parking spot costs $1200 to construct. There are few places on campus the University can turn into parking lots, Rhea said. He added that parking garages are not a viable alternative because a garage with 500 spaces would cost $12 million, which is 12 times the budget of the Transportation Office.

"If you all propose a solution that is impossible and you do it only in the name of pushing forward student opinion and not being honest with the people who elected you, then I don't think you're doing your jobs," Rhea said.

Because the bill failed, co-author Sen. Asa Hohman said he plans to start a petition to UM administrators and the Office of Public Safety to prove that students view parking as a problem.

Following the meeting, students started a Facebook group to share their parking experiences and encourage each other to contact the 14 senators who voted against the bill. Two hours after the creation of the group, there were 170 members.

amy.sisk@umontana.edu