By Margaret Brown, Copy-Editor
On Sept. 24, Wheaton Public Safety released its Annual Security and Fire Report, a yearly requirement under the Clery Act. This year’s report comes as many colleges nationwide face scrutiny over how they respond to crime and sexual violence following a lawsuit against Cornell University alleging a fraternity house rape in 2024.
The Clery Act — a federal law passed by Congress in 1990 — requires all Title IV higher education institutions to publish crime statistics of the past year by Oct. 1. Wheaton’s 2026 report includes two allegations of rape reported in 2025. Zero allegations were reported in 2024. It also shows 12 allegations of dating violence in 2025, up from two allegations in 2024.
This report comes less than a week after news broke about a lawsuit filed Sept. 16 against Cornell University alleging a student was drugged and raped at the Chi Phi fraternity house. This case, where plaintiff Jane Doe accused the college of negligence and attempting to cover up the assault, has drawn national attention to how colleges respond to violence against students on campus.
Cory Orphan, Wheaton’s Clery compliance officer, said that the report tallies are based on allegations of crimes rather than convictions or the results of a formal investigation. An allegation is counted the year it is reported, not the year the event allegedly happened, and one person reporting several incidents adds several counts.
He cautioned against reading the numbers as a simple measure of safety.
“It is vital that informed readers are aware of how these statistics are created before drawing conclusions as to their meaning,” Orphan said.
The crime data comes from dozens of law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction over campus owned areas, including those with jurisdiction over places where students stay overnight on college trips, and from more than 200 campus security authorities, faculty, staff and students who must report crimes disclosed to them in that role.
Beth Maas, director of Equity and Title IX and Title IX coordinator, said that Title IX staff are included in those who can report, but most reports to her office are not Clery-reportable offenses.
Not every incident gets included in the count. Under federal guidance Orphan cited, pastoral and professional counselors acting in those roles are exempt from reporting crimes for the statistics, a protection meant to preserve confidentiality in counseling. Furthermore, not all crimes are reported at all to counselors or campus security authorities.
According to the Association of American Universities in a survey done in 2019, overall rates of reporting sexual misconduct to campus officials or police range from 5% to 28%, depending on the type of behavior.
How colleges gather and count this information has been subject to controversy. Liberty University was fined $14 million after the Department of Education found that from 2016 to 2023 the college discouraged students from reporting, inadequately responded to reports of sexual violence, failed to tell its campus about criminal activities and did not keep an accurate list of crimes.
Orphan said allegations are counted whether or not a police report is filed, and even if the person withdraws.
When it comes to ensuring that Wheaton’s safety report is as complete and accurate as possible, Orphan said that due to the complex nature of the Clery Act, even the most forthright attempt to comply with every aspect of the law does not guarantee a perfect audit by the Department of Education.
“I can only say that I do my very best to ensure that Wheaton College complies with all aspects of the Clery Act to the very best of our ability,” Orphan said.
Failure to warn campus about security risks was one of the failings the DOE found with Liberty’s Clery Act compliance. The Clery Act requires campuses to provide a timely warning when a reported crime is posing a continuous threat.
On Oct. 9, Public Safety sent a timely warning about a man in a red Jeep who was following and catcalling female students. According to the alert, officers received multiple reports on Oct. 8 and located the man. The email said Wheaton Police issued a notice of trespass.
Eve Chester, a senior studying math, said she saw a red Jeep slow down near two women around the College Avenue crosswalk. She heard a man yell something at the women, and while she couldn’t identify what was said, Chester said that the women appeared to be startled and uncomfortable.
“I walked away feeling a little unsettled,” Chester said.
Students can also take concerns about harassment or sexual misconduct to the Equity and Title IX office. Ellie Adams, a senior psychology major, said she feels safe on campus, but doesn’t think students talk openly about assault and consent. She said there are many misconceptions surrounding what the office does, which lead to hesitancy to report.
“I think we confuse it a lot with what police work would be,” Adams said.
The office does not have the jurisdiction to conduct criminal investigations or bring charges against an individual, but they do handle reports of harassment and sexual misconduct. Maas said that when the office receives a report, staff contacts the person who may have been harmed to share resources, explain options and offer to meet, and that a meeting doesn’t require a formal complaint.
Supportive measures can usually begin within days, even if a student wants no formal process, and Maas said informal resolutions, when a student chooses them, can often be completed within a few days to a week.
Adams said students may have heard the office doesn’t do anything, a perception she said stories like Cornell’s can reinforce. She said students also worry about retaliation. “I think that might be a big fear: if no charges are pushed and they’re still on campus, I still have to be safe,” she said.
Maas said the college’s policies prohibit retaliation, and that the office’s response may not be visible to others.
“I also want to note that sometimes it may seem like ‘nothing happened’ in other cases because privacy rules limit what the College can share,” Maas said.
Maas said students don’t have to commit to a formal process to get help. They can consult with her without any obligation to move forward, and they have significant input into whether and how a matter proceeds. Students can meet confidentially with a Confidential Advisor, a licensed therapist trained in Title IX policies and procedures. Maas also said the college’s policies offer amnesty with reduced consequences to students who report harm, even if they violated the community covenant.
Since the Cornell lawsuit, Maas said her team has discussed how to make its processes better known and reduce barriers to reporting, and plans to add educational materials around campus. She said the college’s Christian identity shapes the office’s work, and that staff regularly offer to pray with students.
“Our faith in Christ shapes how we approach Equity and Title IX work, including how we care for students who are hurting and students who may have caused harm,” Maas said.
Speaking on campus administration and general responses, Adams said prayer is valuable but not enough on its own. “Sometimes people need practical support,” she said.
Maas said the office agrees. She said it leads with practical support and tangible options, and sees prayer as one part of care.
Students who want to explore the practical support they can receive can visit the Equity and Title IX page to explore their options, file a report or learn more about the process.
“Our team cares deeply about this work and about the wellbeing of our community,” Maas said. “Students and staff are always welcome to reach out to any member of our team with questions about our policies or processes.”
