Since October, five incidents of female students at Conn Coll reported seeing a phone directed at them in the shower stall. The most recent report was in late January. Four of the five incidents occurred in the residential house called Plant House, while the other incident occurred in Morrison House, a first-year dorm, on an all-female floor. The school claimed to take a charge in the investigation by hiring a private investigator until the most recent incident sparked a more intense and larger police presence in the investigation. In the first days of February, the police identified a 20-year-old male student as the main suspect, the suspect was immediately removed from campus and brought in for further investigation.
With the increased police presence on campus, media got a hold of the incidents. News stations and newspapers broadcasted the story as Voyeurism in “Gender Inclusive Bathrooms” with gender inclusive in quotations. Some television reports put emphasis on the term “gender inclusive bathrooms”. This level of emphasis disregards the sexual predator who is doing this act and puts blame on gender inclusive bathrooms for the acts. Conn Coll has had gender inclusive restrooms and housing for years. We pride ourselves on being an institution of equality which is why many students are left upset over the way gender inclusivity is being broadcasted on the news.
Additionally, reporters were said to be waiting outside of Plant House for females to enter the building so that the reporters could interrogate the females about how they were feeling about this situation. Many of the females that were interrogated say that they were asked if they were one of the victims. After living in fear to shower, the last thing female students want to do is to be interrogated by strangers about their opinions and experiences. If one experiences this form of sexual harassment, it is their choice to speak up about it, especially to a strange news reporter or the public. The media’s behavior is taking away agency from students that already felt targeted with the incident at hand.
Students are still recovering from the scary instance of voyeurism, but are happy that there has been a resolution. However, the way in which the media handled and portrayed this situation has sparked ongoing conversation.