Men’s Ice Hockey Task Force—Call for Input
In March, President Brown established the Men’s Ice Hockey Task Force to assess the culture and climate of men’s ice hockey at Boston University in the wake of charges of sexual assault against two members of the men’s ice hockey team (http://www.bu.edu/president/letters-writings/letters/2012/3-07/). The work of the Task Force is well under way. Our efforts are currently focused on gathering information and data that will enable us to assess whether the culture and climate of the hockey team are consistent with the values and mission of the University. As a reminder, our efforts are not directed at considering the guilt or innocence of the individuals who have been charged with sexual assault.
Gathering information from the Boston University community is an essential part of our efforts. Thus, we write to invite members of the BU community to provide relevant information, and to describe the ways in which to do so.
There are three different ways in which information may be provided to the Task Force. First, we will be hosting two Task Force Open Forums on campus. These are public meetings for members of the BU community to provide input to Task Force members. Members of the Task Force will be present at the Open Forums to listen to BU community input on issues that are relevant to the climate and culture of men’s hockey.
The first Task Force Open Forum will take place on Wednesday, April 11th from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Sargent Auditorium, 635 Commonwealth Ave. The second will take place on Monday, April 23rd from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the Kenmore Classroom Building, Room 101, at 565 Commonwealth Ave. These sessions will be moderated by Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore and will employ clearly defined guidelines for participation.
Second, we have established a Task Force website which has a portal to receive written comments: http://www.bu.edu/hockey-task-force/. Members of the BU community are welcome to offer comments, either anonymously or by identifying themselves. Further guidelines for submitting comments are provided on the web site.
Third, members of the community are welcome to write letters, either anonymously or by identifying themselves, and send them to the Task Force in the care of the two chairs (Jean Morrison and Jonathan Cole) at Office of the Provost, Boston University, One Silber Way, Eighth Floor, Boston, MA 02215.
Please note that input provided with attribution will be more useful than unattributed information. For example, because the Task Force may wish to explore a particular matter in more detail, we may seek additional information from individuals who have provided attributed input.
Every reasonable effort will be made to protect the privacy and confidentiality of those who submit comments or letters, and of other individuals who may be identified in such communications to the Task Force. Because any apparent violation of law and/or Boston University policy that may come to light must be addressed, complete confidentiality may not be possible.
The deadline for providing information either via the web portal or directly in writing is 5:00 p.m. Friday, May 15, 2012. (Update: The deadline for written submissions has been extended to 5:00 p.m. Thursday, May 31, 2012.)
We look forward to hearing from members of our community.
