Reported Sexual Assault At Notre Dame Campus Leaves More Questions Than Answers

National Catholic Reporter:

On her way back to St. Mary's College from the University of Notre Dame, just across the street in Notre Dame, Ind., freshman Lizzy Seeberg texted her therapist that she needed to talk ASAP. "Something bad happened," read her message, sent at 11:39 p.m. on Aug. 31, 2010.

A sophomore in their dorm bolted from her study group after getting a similar message. When they talked a few minutes later, Lizzy was crying so hard she was having trouble breathing: "She looked really flushed and was breathing heavily and talking really fast; I couldn't understand her. I just heard her say 'boy,' 'Notre Dame,' 'football player.' She was crying and having the closest thing to a panic attack I've seen in my life. I told her to breathe and sit down and tell me everything."

Read the whole story: National Catholic Reporter

Comments

[jean girardo]

11:33 AM on 04/09/2012

other schools would not have been able to cover this up, but Notre Dame could, why???

[theaustralian]

05:49 AM on 04/09/2012

blame the frats.

[Corpilot]

01:29 PM on 04/08/2012

Let's not rush to judgement based upon a news article. Considering the complete lack of actual unbiased reporting lately I will wait for more facts.

[treabeton]

03:20 PM on 04/07/2012

This is not simply about one tragic occurrence. It's about an institution's failure to respond in an appropriate and timely manner. It's about many similar instances on a campus where you would think there would be more institutional empathy and understanding as opposed to denial. The evidence suggest ND priests and officals would essentially tell the many sexual assault victims to be quiet. Code: Do not embarass the University.

If you read the entire, long article, by a Washington Post reporter, you will come away with a very uncomfortable feeling in the pit of your stomach. I found the article chilling. It's about sexual assault and it's about rape. It's about athletes being kicked out of the university as a result of rape charges. But never facing criminal charges.

In a larger context, this article is also about sexual assault at all US campuses and the sense of entitlement athletes have as well as the premium many would put on "image" and football success.

The Penn State Sandusky tragedy was, in part, a failure of the university and its officals to follow through on eyewitness accounts of child abuse for fear of "embarassing" the university and its football program.

[jean girardo]

11:35 AM on 04/09/2012

ND is the darling of America, except for in WASP enclaves.

[Megandale]

07:43 PM on 04/06/2012

While I'm sorry that Lizzy is gone, this case is difficult to prove and discuss. The football player in question was accused of trying to touch her breasts. I'm sure many people on here will jump on me for this, but most guys in college who kiss a girl will try that next step. I'm saddened that this girl, who had a history of depression, to take her own life...worst thing that could happen. That said, let's keep in mind that this was in no way a rape charge.

[rabbitSC]

02:59 PM on 04/07/2012

Maybe you should have actually read the article:

----

“He started sucking my neck and I started crying harder,” Lizzy wrote. “He pulled down my tank top by the straps. He slipped them down my shoulders and proceeded to suck and lick my right breast while holding me down on his lap by the arms. I felt his hands start to move down towards my shorts as if he was trying to unbutton them or pull them off. I was still crying at this point and felt so scared that I couldn’t move.” When the local prosecutor declined to bring charges, as expected in a case without a living victim, his press release made the allegations sound so tame: “specifically, the touching of her breasts.”

----

You're right, this case is difficult--probably impossible--to prove. But the article (if you had had read it) isn't just about Lizzy, it's about how Notre Dame responds to sexual assault allegations: by faulting the victims and discouraging investigations. You do a disservice to this young woman's memory and to other victims of Notre Dame's rape culture with your opinionated ignorance.

[Megandale]

05:25 PM on 04/07/2012

I've read many articles on the subject, so you aren't telling me anything I haven't already read. The point I was making is that there is a very fine line when discussing assault cases. Unless she said "no" or pushed him away, the boy was probably not aware that she was crying. I do no disservice to anyone. As a female ND alum, I simply look at the facts.

[Megandale]

07:41 PM on 04/08/2012

As I've said several times, I'm speaking only of Lizzy's case. That said, you have obviously read the articles and know that the case is not that of rape. I'm not commenting on the other cases, just this one. Stick to the facts and story at hand. There is nothing disgusting about me, or the friends, family and classmates of mine that feel the same way.

[Megandale]

07:26 PM on 04/06/2012

Huff Po likes to post this story over and over, I see. This (lovely) young woman accused a football player of groping her chest. Not of rape, assault or anything else. The reason why ND hasn't done anything is because it's tough to prove groping of chest. It's beyond sad that she committed suicide, no doubt about it. That said, let's keep in mind what the charges are.

[PengieP]

10:36 PM on 04/06/2012

Furthermore this incident happened off Notre Dame's campus, did it not? Thus the University really has no business being involved directly anyway- IF they wanted to pursue this, they needed to work through the sheriff's office who has to investigate and decide if there's evidence of a crime for the DA to work on. It's sad this woman took her life, but nobody knows what really happened, or if it was even an "assault" and if the cops can't find evidence of a crime, that's got to be the end of it. Believe me, the S. B. cops and St. Joe's sheriff's department do not cut N. D. students ANY slack. The relationship between ND students and S. B. law enforcement is what a reasonable person would call "adversarial".

[rabbitSC]

03:01 PM on 04/07/2012

Not sure why you felt the need to comment on an article that you didn't read. The first sentence (the first sentence!) of the article makes it clear that Lizzy was assaulted on the Notre Dame campus (specifically, as clarified later in the article, in the football player's dorm room).

[rabbitSC]

03:13 PM on 04/07/2012

I encourage you to read the article. It is not just a rehashing of the Lizzy Seeberg incident. It's an investigative piece that describes many other incidences of rape and sexual assault at Notre Dame that were handled with shocking irresponsibility. The entire point of the article that the reason ND did little to help Lizzy was NOT "because it's tough to prove groping of chest." It's because they have an institutionalized patriarchal culture that blames women for being assaulted. Consider this excerpt:

---
In 1974, a South Bend woman who was hospitalized and then spent a month in a psychiatric facility after reporting being gang-raped by six Notre Dame football players was described by a top university administrator as “a queen of the slums with a mattress tied to her back.” No charges were filed, but the accused were suspended for a year for violating school rules. At the time, even so revered a figure as Holy Cross Fr. Theodore Hesburgh said: “We didn’t have to talk to the girl; we talked to the boys.”
----

Please read the article. You might learn something.