Rob Spear
Mairin Jameson
A newly formed Students for Accountability and Safety (SAS) group at the University of Idaho is calling for Rob Spear, the UI athletic director, to step down after the mishandling of a 2013 sexual assault made headlines in early March.
Former swim and dive student-athlete Mairin Jameson publicly came forward with the assault through a Tumblr post in January. The post recounted Jameson’s assault and her experience working with the university afterward.
Jameson said Spear mishandled the incident by not meeting the requirement of notifying the Dean of Students Office — a violation of Title IX guidelines.
Sarah Solomon, a fourth-year student, formed SAS not long after the news broke. SAS met with ASUI Senators Wednesday evening to discuss the call to action. The group, which is largely using social media to campaign, is calling for the removal or resignation of Spear and overall administrative transparency.
SAS’s petition reads: “We as a student body demand better from our leaders. This petition seeks the swift removal of Rob Spear as an employee of the university.”
Solomon said the online petition held nearly 500 signatures as of Wednesday evening and remaining physical copies of the petition have yet to be counted.
At the open forum, the Senate heard from nearly 10 speakers — students, staff and administrators — with both positive and negative feedback in response to Spear’s actions.
ASUI President McKenzie MacDonald said the SAS petition is completely separate from the ASUI resolution.
Senate Resolution S18-R06 reads, “Rob Spear’s actions were abhorrent and deplorable. The culture surrounding sexual assault reporting at the University of Idaho is not healthy, and that is for the students to decide.”
The resolution further calls for President Chuck Staben to ask for Rob Spear’s immediate resignation.
In a prepared statement, MacDonald said she has concerns about the resolution as written.
“I stand before you this evening not in disagreement with this body’s desire to make a strong statement — we must make a strong statement — but in disagreement to the resolution as written and to the process in which it was proposed.”
The Senate will officially vote next week to pass the resolution as it stands.
Reaching out
Solomon said she first reached out to Jameson via Facebook, thanking her for sharing her story and letting her know the new student group supported her.
“I was heartbroken for her and heartbroken that the university I loved so much handled it in the way it did,” Solomon said. “I think to have something like that happen is already so traumatizing, and not have support from them (the university) is even worse.”
Jameson said she feels honored to have the support of younger Vandals behind her story.
“I 100 percent support the petition,” Jameson said. “It is overwhelming to have the support of Vandals fighting for me. That is the true definition of being a Vandal and I am so proud and honored to have their support.”
In an Argonaut report, Jameson said her college tenure was not what she expected it to be because of the events that occurred in 2013.
“I’ve put that in the past. I’m not broken because of that, and I’ve moved on from that,” Jameson said. “But I don’t think I’ve fully gotten closure from the situation because of how the athletic department handled it.”
Meeting student needs
Now, Solomon and her group are hoping to seek consequences for the actions Rob Spear did not take. Student safety, Solomon said, is the focus of SAS.
“Student safety is something that needs to be a priority,” Solomon said. “They (the administration) will tell you it is, but their actions don’t match that statement.”
In a university news release, President Chuck Staben said UI is creating a task force to examine university safety and security. Blaine Eckles, dean of students, will co-chair the task force, which will focus on mental health, student concerns for campus safety and the university’s approach to interpersonal violence.
At the Senate meeting, Staben said all students were welcome to give their input to the taskforce.
Staben spoke to Spear’s involvement with sexual assault prevention within the athletic department.
“At this point in time, I think he is a role model for this university,” Staben said.
Hearing the student voice
In a prepared statement, Rob Spear responded to SAS’s call to action.
“I look forward to my upcoming meeting with ASUI leadership. It will allow me to completely and accurately explain the process followed in 2013, as well as the dedication our athletic department has shown in the areas of Title IX education and training since that time,” Spear said.
Solomon said the student voice should rise up and protect the policies in place that are supposed to support and protect student. After hearing the news, Solomon said she felt ready to do something to show how important this is to the UI student population.
“I wanted to channel all my frustration toward something,” Solomon said. “With this petition, we can take tangible steps to finding a solution.”
Solomon said she understands the feeling of not being fully heard by administrative leaders at UI, and the others in the group feel the same.
An ASUI resolution was initiated by Catherine Yenne and Jordan Kizer in collaboration with other senators. ASUI President McKenzie MacDonald said the SAS petition is completely separate from the ASUI resolution.
Demanding accountability
Solomon said UI students shouldn’t feel unsafe in their environment because of the present lack of accountability displayed on the administrative level.
“Spear didn’t follow protocol. Removing him from office is a step in the right direction,” Solomon said. “I would call for this on anyone who did the same. This is simply students demanding a really high level of accountability.”
Jameson said she feels her experience at UI would have proceeded differently had the SAS group existed.
“Social media is an extremely powerful tool that our generation utilizes as a platform,” Jameson said. “I believe that more students would be aware of their options if this was in place.”
Jameson said going public with her story has helped bring to light an issue many people face daily at the collegiate level. The overall positive response has made her thankful for the support she has received from people and groups like Solomon and SAS.
“You are fighting a fight that I didn’t have in me and that I clearly couldn’t do alone,” Jameson said of the student group.
Hailey Stewart can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at Hailey_ann97