Joseph Castro is not the only one mishandling sexual harassment claims at Fresno State

Supporting victims and survivors on college campuses has a long and arduous history that is of little interest to most readers, or to many higher education professionals. Yet, once again, Fresno has been shocked to attention by the poor Title IX response of Fresno State administrators.

While (former President Joseph) Castro should be held accountable, we should avoid holding him up as “the” responsible person. Doing this distracts from the systemic issues at Fresno State and higher education in general.

The term “conspiracy of silence has been used to represent the purposeful inaction and lack of attention paid to sexual victimization from an institutional standpoint, and exemplifies university brand management” (Prior & de Heer, 2020). This brand management includes the constant reminder of the positive campus changes that occurred despite (former vice president of student affairs Frank) Lamas being employed.

Singling out Castro is also a distraction from the actions of administrators that worked under him, tasked with handling staff and student cases, many of whom are still employed at the institution. Not only are the individuals who ignored reports from staff and students in current high-ranking positions (some being promoted during and after the Lamas debacle), but there are still many staff that come to work every day carrying the trauma of being harassed and subsequently ignored. They also now shoulder the misplaced guilt from the vitriol of administrators who accuse them of hindering the illusive sanctions that would have surely been issued if only they would have reported.

Suggesting that the lack of a formal Title IX report inhibits disciplinary action is a blatant misrepresentation of the facts and is, in fact, grotesque victim blaming. A Title IX complaint is often the last resort for individuals who have been harassed, especially for women when their male boss is the perpetrator. The outcome of these reported incidents is a clear example of why.

A bold action would have been for the numerous informal reports and personal stories to be viewed in totality. A bold action would have been to believe victims. That is ultimately where the administration failed.

Additionally, while Lamas has high-profile shock value, many students made reports to Title IX under this administration, and were met with the dismissiveness apparent in the USA Today article. Their cases deserve to be revisited.

Many of Lamas’ victims are known to the administration, and they should be the first individuals approached as this campus begins to heal and make permanent change. I am interested in Castro taking real responsibility, and hoping that this incident may provide an inroad for large-scale change: to implement the survivor-centered policies and procedures that students, faculty, and staff activists have been calling on for decades.

Castro and the Fresno State cabinet and administrators involved owe reparations to the victims of Frank Lamas, and to the current students at Fresno State. Minimally, financial reparations need to be made to all complainants, not “just formal complainants,” out of the pockets of said administrators who caused harm and enabled Lamas to continue his years of harassment. Salaries for these administrators range between over $100,000 to $600,000 annually, showing no reason for this burden to come out of general funds or fall to the community to repay.

Additionally, Fresno State needs an Advocacy and Victims Services Office, not a single individual who is housed in the health center. Suggesting that one advocate should support a campus of almost 25,000 students and 2,500 staff and faculty is misguided.

Regular and continuing education on sexual violence, dating and domestic violence, and stalking should be created and led by this office, by staff that are appropriately trained, and through a survivor-centered framework. This education must include workshops directed at perpetrators (both known and potential), and all administrators need to engage in annual in-person training with this office.

Fresno State and Dr. Castro have the spotlight and an opportunity to accept responsibility and take bold action. I hope they are the leaders we all thought they were.