SARAH HUGHSTON – Social Media Manager
JESSICA MEDITZ – Editor in Chief
[Content warning: this article discusses allegations and descriptions of sexual misconduct]
One month ago, an Instagram post took the Fredonia community by storm.
The anonymous, now-deleted Instagram page claimed that a current freshman theater major at Fredonia hired someone to hack into the Snapchat accounts of eight girls in April 2020.
“He posted teaser images of us, and then said he would send them to whoever was willing to describe how they would degrade our bodies. Our UNDERAGE bodies,” the post said.
Outraged, students gathered at LoGrasso Hall on Aug. 30 to protest in response to these accusations and the administration’s silence on the matter.
Many in Fredonia’s student body were upset and uncomfortable with the accused student attending classes.
This was evident through the resharing of the post to different social media platforms by students and alumni.
Additionally, a petition was started by Michaela Farley, titled “Get a threatening individual kicked off of campus.”
It now has almost 10,000 signatures.
While the petition’s signatures come from many places, that’s almost equivalent to the entire population of Fredonia, NY.
The comment section of the petition is filled with concerns for students’ safety and disapproval with the university’s way of handling the situation.
One comment read: “Campus police knew about this all along. Fredonia, stop staying silent about this. Don’t put students at risk.”
When contacted by The Leader, Chief Brent Isaacson of University Police declined to comment.
A theater major at Fredonia who has class with the accused student asked to remain anonymous for their safety.
They said, “I feel concerned not only for myself but for my peers… [and] that it is unfair that we have to be vulnerable with [them] in the room. It’s unfair that [they] can stay in [their class] but if we have a problem with [them], we have to drop our required class and take it next semester.”
With many students concerned about their safety on campus, sophomore exercise science major Justina Eodice, took action.
She organized the campus protest, titled “Standing Against Sexual Predators at SUNY Fredonia.”
Its purpose was to express student discouragement with the administration’s handling of this situation.
Eodice feels that “this campus has a violent history of sexual abuse, but for some reason it’s always been something everyone has just been silent on.”
“The whole situation with [the accused student] was just kind of my breaking point. I couldn’t sit back and sign a petition and not do anything… So I made the decision to have this protest in order to give the students a platform to speak on their pain and frustration,” Eodice continued.
The protest began outside of LoGrasso Hall with at least 100 students, and looped around campus twice, the second time stopping in front of President Stephen Kolison’s house.
The crowd chanted emphatic phrases such as “believe survivors” and “silence is violence,” until Kolison eventually came out of his house to address the group.
Kolison acknowledged the frustration of the students, and assured them multiple times that their safety was his No.1 priority.
Several protesters urged him to take action, saying “We’re counting on you,” and “Please don’t let us down.”
The crowd then asked if he would join the walk back to campus, and he agreed.
A few hours after the protest, he released an email stating, “Please know that I heard you. I heard your stories. I shared your stories with my administration afterward. We will organize a meeting with you very shortly to discuss your concerns.”
After reading the email, Eodice said, “I believe the president is with us, I believe he empathized with our anger and pain. But most of all I think he was moved by the way we came together as a community and made our voices heard. I hope to speak with him and others higher up in the administration to speak more on implementing new policies and perhaps having more education on rape culture and sexual assault here at Fredonia.”
In response to the uproar among students, Fredonia’s administration has held several meetings. In attendance at one of the meetings was Lylens Lubin, Fredonia’s senior class president.
“It was good to get a better understanding of the situation,” said Lubin.
“There have been a lot of rumors and false information. If something happens with a student before they’re enrolled in a state college, that college has no jurisdiction to deal with it.”
Lubin feels the university is taking the situation seriously and handling it accordingly.
He declined to make any judgement on whether the allegations against the student were valid.
“Just know that the school has taken all of the necessary information and this was settled in legal matters,” he said.
While it is uncertain what action the administration will take regarding this issue, students said they will not give up the fight for their comfort and wellbeing.
Shouts for justice echoed through Fredonia’s campus. Survivors could hear how many people were advocating for them.
Students say it’s now up to the administration to take action and display how they will react to survivors’ stories.
When asked about future plans for the movement, Eodice said, “Because COVID numbers are increasing at a fast rate, probably not right now [in-person protests]. But I do have some ideas on how to spread more awareness.”
The Leader contacted the accused student via FredMail asking if they’d be willing to comment on the protest and the allegations.
The student responded that they had seen the email from the Leader, but did not offer any response to questions by the time this story was uploaded.
No records of legal charges against the student have been found, although the original Instagram post said the case had been investigated by law enforcement officials.
For a live-Tweeted overview of the protest, you can visit The Leader’s Twitter page.