Ms. MacDonald did the right thing and reported the assault to the proper authorities. Then for reasons that seemed reasonable to someone at some distant time in the past, the rape report appears to have been forwarded to the BYU Honor Code folks. Said Honor Code folks then contacted Ms. MacDonald and let her know there was some question about whether or not she had broken the honor code. [Update: Nothing I said above is incorrect. However Michael Davidson has shared better information about the reason Ms. MacDonald’s past experience is hitting the news now.]
I’m about to send a daughter to BYU. Frankly, I’m less worried about her being sexually assaulted at BYU than at other institutions of higher learning. Institutional levels of stupid happen at any of a number of places.
Relief Society, 1842
But I couldn’t help but think back to Nauvoo in 1842, when terrible acts were occurring,acts that would definitely get lots of people kicked out had the BYU honor code been in place. Brigham Young, himself, might have gotten kicked out, in fact.[ref]Per William Clayton, Joseph had severe concerns about a BY, praying earnestly for his soul. The other two men who Joseph told Clayton about had died (R[obert] Thompson, Brother [Vinson] Knight). Per my reconstruction, Brigham’s error was attempting to get Martha Brotherton to agree to be his extra-monogamous partner, which appears to have occurred in Dec 1841, before Brigham knew about Celestial Marriage. See Reluctant Polygamist (kindle or paperback) for more detail.[/ref]
But one of the reasons we moderns have never heard about most of the nasty is because Joseph and Emma worked together. Women who had transgressed were interviewed and given a chance to repent. No record survives except for the clueless burblings of those who it appears weren’t involved, except by virtue of having listened to rumors (e.g., Emily Partridge).
Note that Nauvoo 1842 was not characterized by violent rape so much as coercive seduction. The women who participated had been badgered and over-ruled by men claiming to be in the right to get their bit of flesh. In the wake of the interviews and preaching of the Relief Society and Joseph Smith, several of the women came forward, giving shockingly explicit confessions. These women who confessed were quickly restored to fellowship. The redacted testimony of four of the women was published in 1844, so it isn’t as though the entire matter was kept secret. But even that level of publication would never have occurred, in my opinion, if one of the 1842 seducers (Chauncey Higbee) not been actively involved in trying to get Joseph Smith killed.
Sexual Assault Prevention and Response
If BYU isn’t quite sure what to do in the media firestorm I assume they are experiencing, they might want to check out the DOD SAPR program. I work for the Navy, and my command is festooned with teal ribbons, the symbol for SAPR awareness month. Due to a recent increase in allegations, my command recently held mandatory stand-down training. The Admirals and their lead Senior Executives for each major division stood before all their employees and decried any sexual harassment or assault. Videos showing how inappropriate talk and text and actions negatively impact valued members of the workforce were shown. There was no question that an individual erring would be swiftly dealt with.
The military has developed this kind of proactive and sensitive approach because there had reportedly been tens of thousands of cases of sexual assault (the definition here being any unwelcome touching, e.g., kissing, fondling, as well as aggravated rape).
Looking Forward to Swift Reform
In a perverse way, I am tentatively pleased that BYU is a sufficiently safe campus that they hadn’t previously gotten “the memo.”
But on behalf of my daughter and my generation and the three generations of women and men of my family before me who have taught and studied at BYU/BYA, I earnestly hope Ms. MacDonald’s experience results in swift reform of any insensitive processes relating to BYU’s treatment of victims.