UTSA students go public with allegations of campus assaults

UTSA student Katerina Tsvetkova and other students participates in a campus demonstration by a group of UTSA students decrying rape culture as they name male students accused of sexual assault on Wednesday, May 1st, 2019. less UTSA student Katerina Tsvetkova and other students participates in a campus demonstration by a group of UTSA students decrying rape culture as they name male students accused of sexual assault on Wednesday, May ... more Photo: /Carlos Javier Sanchez / Contributor Photo: /Carlos Javier Sanchez / Contributor Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close UTSA students go public with allegations of campus assaults 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

Katerina Tsvetkova hugged her friend, Kimiya Factory, before they and four other women stood on a low ledge on the University of Texas at San Antonio campus Wednesday, holding posters with the names of men they were accusing of sexual assault or dating violence.

There were seven names in all. The group stood in silence — some with tape plastered over their mouths — facing supporters who knew of their mission, joined by a gathering crowd.

Two young women strained to see above heads in front of them to read the signs and figure out if they knew the names. Desiré Walker, a senior, spoke to two onlookers, both men, explaining the group called itself Change Rape Culture and was publicly naming accused male students “to shed light on rape culture, to make it better for women and men.”

The men commended the group’s confidence in putting the names on public display. Other reactions were more critical, but the group of protesters grew as bystanders joined them, including some men, reaching about 20 at one point. The size of the crowd was fluid, surpassing 50 at some points, and the onlookers talked among themselves. Nobody confronted the protesters, who ended the mostly silent demonstration with loud chants, including “We believe you!”

The group formed in November. Its leaders, including Factory, 20, have been critical of the university’s handling of sexual assault accusations and said members decided on Wednesday’s event after university and police investigations failed to lead to any consequences. Members of the group also posted the names on social media beginning Wednesday morning and linked to the men’s online presence.

Some of the women had gone to police, Factory said, but that yielded inconclusive results.

“Nobody has seen anyone held accountable and that is why we’re doing this today,” she said.

The Express-News is not identifying the men because the accusations have not led to a criminal charge.

Factory said at least three of the men named at Wednesday’s protest had been reported to police or UTSA officials but couldn’t say if all of them had. She said the group independently investigated the men after women sought their help. One of them is on a varsity sports team and another works on campus, Factory said.

On ExpressNews.com: University of Texas at San Antonio releases new sex assault allegations

Some group members said they had spoken with the Austin law firm the university hired last fall to investigate allegations of sexual abuse — a probe UTSA President Taylor Eighmy launched in part because an anonymous flyer hinting that accused men would be outed was posted in November at an apartment complex near campus. The law firm issued a report that shed no light on the flyer’s origins.

In the crowd were friends of the accused who denied the accusations on their behalf. Justice Dominics, 21, took photos of the women that he said would be used to sue them later. He said he knew three of the men who were named on the posters and said they were “being accused by girls who have already had sexual interactions with them and because they didn’t want relationships and stuff, they’re just making false accusations.”

Some women in the crowd said they’d heard multiple stories about some of the men named on the signs forcing sex or being abusive in a relationship.

“A lot of people that are up there are not only offenders that are well-known, but they’re repeat offenders. The people who are saying these are false accusations or alleged — it’s not alleged,” said Anika Brown, 21, who said she wasn’t part of the group but had attended a couple of its meetings.

Moshood Adams, 22, approached Factory at the front of the group to tell her he respected her movement but didn’t agree with the process.

“There’s no opportunity for these guys to defend themselves. If you’re a man right now in this society, especially a black man, coming out and saying, ‘I didn’t do it’ literally amounts to nothing. It means nothing,” he said later. “If (the women) are wrong, there’s a hundred people out here and there’s about to be a hundred more people and counting that are going to see these names.”

Adams refrained from defending the two named men that he knows because, he said, he wasn’t aware of the allegations, but he agreed college campuses need to pay more attention to a longstanding rape culture among young people.

“I have sisters. I appreciate a safe campus for everyone. That’s important to me,” Adams said. “I think the motivation and the end goal is correct.”

On ExpressNews.com: UTSA sex assault investigation underway

In an email to students later in the afternoon, Eighmy noted the demonstration without commenting on the appropriateness of its tactics. He said administrators opened a Title IX investigation “to thoroughly explore” the allegations. Some of the men named by the protesters were already being investigated, but federal privacy laws prevent the university from releasing additional information about it, Eighmy said.

Eighmy sent another email Thursday morning, saying the university has received questions about the legality of students publicly accusing others.

“All UTSA students have the right to exercise free speech according to the First Amendment and university policy. UTSA, as a state entity, may not intervene,” Eighmy wrote.

The email reiterated the school’s zero-tolerance stance on sexual assault and noted that all who are accused of it are “innocent until proven responsible, and they are entitled to due process.”

Jessica Luther, author of “Unsportsmanlike Conduct: College Football and the Politics of Rape,” said the frustration of the UTSA women was “understandable and unsurprising,” but she would not critique how they expressed it “because the issue is so complex and every case is different.”

“Is this materially different from charging these things, making these allegations, in a civil suit?” she asked. “Maybe there are people who think there is a difference, but it’s hard to draw a line when the system seems so inherently unfair.”

Factory said she believes accusers should be named publicly but accusations should be vetted. She said she was confident the men accused Wednesday were guilty of the allegations. Some of their accusers were unsatisfied with the law firm’s investigation, saying the investigators asked questions implying they were somewhat responsible for what happened to them, Factory said.

She had declined to cooperate with the law firm because the women had given their stories to her in confidence, but they have since given her permission to air the allegations, Factory said.

“We do feel like the community will come together to make sure we’re protected,” she said about any potential lawsuits or other blowback. “We are exercising our freedom of speech and freedom to assemble. These allegations are not false.”

Krista Torralva covers several school districts and public universities in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | Krista.Torralva@express-news.net | Twitter: @KMTorralva