photo by: Mike Yoder

The Kappa Sigma fraternity house at Kansas University, 1045 Emery Road.

In Sunday’s paper I had a story updating the situation with Kappa Sigma, the fraternity KU announced was facing “serious and disturbing” allegations of sexual assault at an informal party over homecoming weekend a year ago.

In short, KU gave the entire fraternity two years of probation for violating the university’s sexual misconduct policy, and the fraternity is complying with the conditions so far. As for what reportedly happened, we don’t know. No criminal charges have been filed; Lawrence police say their investigation is “ongoing.” KU, citing federal privacy laws, won’t reveal whether the university investigated or found any individuals responsible for sexual misconduct.

In response to the Kappa Sigma story, a reader (perhaps feeling like we were picking on fraternities?) suggested I write about the rapes in the dorms at KU.

We have. Or, more specifically, we have reported on all the alleged on-campus or fraternity sexual assaults that we knew about and could get information on — but there aren’t very many in that category. Unless cases proceed to court, details aren’t available through official channels. Police and KU disclose little to nothing in order to protect the privacy of victims and others involved.

So for that reader and others who may have missed the reports, here’s the latest on cases we’ve written about since I took over the KU beat last year.

A common theme (nothing new, as highlighted in the ‘Losing proposition’ project I published in December): No one is going to jail.

Lewis Hall, fall 2013 — The Lewis Hall rape case, which got national attention when the victim shared her story with media and spurred outrage on the KU campus, did not result in criminal charges. The district attorney’s office cited “impediments” to a successful prosecution and helped negotiate an out-of-court agreement between the victim and alleged assailant. KU, however, did discipline the man, according to documents obtained by the Journal-World.

GSP Hall, spring 2014 — A man accused of raping a woman he knew in GSP was criminally charged with sexual battery and ultimately got a diversion. The diversion requires him to pay restitution, write an apology letter and perform community service, among other things. KU expelled the man for sexual misconduct.

Hashinger Hall, fall 2014 — Criminal charges against two men accused of raping incapacitated women in Hashinger were dropped, then expunged completely. Arrest affidavits that presumably described what was alleged were never made public. KU did not disclose anything about an investigation into the man who was a KU student.

photo by: Mike Yoder

The Kappa Sigma fraternity house at Kansas University, 1045 Emery Road.

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Footnotes

• Upcoming lecture of note: University of Wisconsin sociologist Alice Goffman, author of “On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City,” will speak at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 21 at Spooner Hall as part of the Hall Center for the Humanities Lecture Series. I’ve heard academic types are particularly interested in Goffman because of the debate her research has sparked.

Critics, as The New York Times puts it, “have debated not just her facts, interpretations and methods, but the fraught politics of privileged white outsiders studying minority communities.” One law professor went so far as to accuse Goffman of conspiracy to commit murder during one incident she wrote about from the six years she spent “observing and sometimes living among” a group of young men in Philadelphia.

• Super blood moon over KU: Architecture on (and near) the KU campus makes for great photos, especially when there’s a dramatic lunar event. Journal-World photographer Mike Yoder took full advantage Sunday night, with these impressive shots of the lunar eclipse looming over The Oread hotel and next to the campanile. Below those, there’s an oldie-but-goodie blood moon image Journal-World photographer Nick Krug captured in 2014.

photo by: Mike Yoder

People gather at The Nest on Ninth at The Oread to watch a harvest moon, a full moon nearest the September equinox, come up Sunday night, Sept. 27, 2015. Later there was an eclipse of the moon which has led many to call this event a rare super blood moon. This combination of events won't happen again until 2033.

photo by: Mike Yoder

A blood moon moves behind the illuminated stones of the Campanile on the Kansas University campus Sunday night, Sept. 27, 2015.

photo by: Nick Krug

A Blood

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Contact me

Any other photographers out there have a successful #superbloodmoon shot incorporating the KU campus? I’d love to see it. Send it my way, or reach out with other KU news tips, by email at sshepherd@ljworld.com, by phone at 832-7187 or on Twitter @saramarieshep.