The following piece was originally sent as an email on August 22 to the President’s Office, ResLife, Title IX Coordinator Kat Matic, LGBTQ+ Services, Provost Renée Cramer, and Dean of Student Life George Stroud. The Dickinsonian also obtained the email.
Dear President John E. Jones III and related faculty,
My name is Austin Lambeth. I am a student who recently transferred from Dickinson following the spring semester. I am first generation, a gay man, and a sexual assault survivor. I did not leave Dickinson because I wanted to. In fact, I am reminiscing on the community I grew to love but was forced to leave. Throughout my year at Dickinson, there were a few speakers who touched on sexual assault stories and were able to shed light on the importance of advocacy and awareness of related issues. Even so, in the spotlight, Dickinson embraced these issues and in many scenarios provided call-to-actions to students, yet behind closed doors I was made to feel alone, unheard, and unvalued.
As the conversation of housing grew closer and the housing lottery approached, I contacted faculty from ResLife, Title IX, and even Tommy Lee (who never responded to my email for months). Before my first year at Dickinson, I was granted a single dorm after having a conversation with Tommy Lee regarding my situation, and my uncomfortability of rooming with male students. This uncomfortability stemmed from a sexual assault that I had experienced in my later years of high school, which still affects me to a great extent today.
After my pleas for help regarding this personal situation fell on deaf ears, I received a meeting with the Title IX office, where I was asked about my experiences and told that I would receive communication back shortly. I received communication and with it came an inappropriate response that completely undermined and belittled my lived experiences. The response detailed that there were no housing accommodations available for my situation as it had not happened on campus, and that even if I had received a note from a psychologist regarding my situation, the office would “still be forced to deny my request for accommodation.” I felt hurt, silenced, and ignored. When sharing the same sleeping space as others, I can’t sleep and I can’t function properly. The Title IX office feeling it was appropriate to state that even if I received proper documentation, they would still be forced to deny my accommodation is abhorrent, and speaks volumes to the experiences of sexual assault survivors in institutions. Even if Dickinson is experiencing a housing shortage, it should not be a survivor’s fault that there are not enough accommodations in a college requiring residential living.
The purpose of this email is not only to inform those who weren’t aware of my situation, but to shed light on the experiences of SA victims, whether they are on campus, or off-campus. Nobody who has been through the experiences that I, and many other men and women share, should ever feel like they are a burden, unimportant, and unheard.
I truly hope that this email does not once again fall on deaf ears, and that the institution begins to take sexual assault seriously, as I know of many other students who share my same experiences of being let down by Dickinson faculty and administrators.
Thank you for your time,
Austin Lambeth
When The Dickinsonian requested comment, President John E. Jones described the email as “poignant” and “hard to read,” and that “There are always ways we can do better … I take it very seriously.” He has reportedly requested a formal investigation into the complaint. The outcomes of student Title IX investigations are private.