Editorial

Policy information must be widespread

Syracuse University released directions on how to report abuse or violence against children through an SU Today email on Friday.

Because the release contained valuable information about how campus community members should report sexual abuse and violence, it should have been released in a different manner. Although it was the lead story in the email, many campus members may have missed it.

Chancellor Nancy Cantor and other SU officials have the power to send a blast to different emailing lists on campus. Cantor used this power when she announced information about former associate men’s basketball coach Bernie Fine last fall, and again over the summer when she sent a message on the Board of Trustees’ Special Committee Report in July.

Sending an email blast about the new policies directly from Cantor’s email account could have alerted more people to open the message and read about the new policies.

Since December 2011, the Joint Working Group has been reviewing university policies related to conduct and responses to allegations of misconduct on campus, including those in the athletics department.



Even when students opened the SU Today email, they had to click on another link to get to the specific directions and policies that the group has been working on. Providing the information in a clear and concise manner should have been of the utmost importance to university officials when releasing the information.

The Joint Working Group plans to release a fuller report before the end of the 2012-13 academic year. When officials are ready to release that report, they should use all avenues available to make the information widely known.





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