In the wake of the sexual abuse allegations against a former assistant football coach at Pennsylvania State University, Syracuse University Chancellor Nancy Cantor sent an email to students, faculty and staff Wednesday asking the community to be vigilant about child sex abuse and how to report it.

Cantor urged students, faculty and staff to call the Syracuse Police Department, New York State Child Protective Services or even the Syracuse Department of Public Safety upon witnessing or suspecting child abuse.

‘Our campus code of ethics and other guidelines call upon us to act and respond promptly in ways that create and sustain the most productive and supportive environment possible for all in our community,’ Cantor said in the email.

Jerry Sandusky, the former assistant football coach at Penn State, was arrested Nov. 5 and charged with sexually abusing eight young boys. That, and the firing of head football coach Joe Paterno, sparked controversy throughout the university and caused many to question the laws around child abuse and reporting it.

‘The recent child sexual abuse allegations at Penn State — a human tragedy that has played out on an immense public stage — remind us all of the responsibility we have, individually and collectively, to ensure that Syracuse University remains a safe place for every campus community member, or everyone with whom we interact on a daily basis,’ Cantor said in the email.

Julie Cecile, executive director of the McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center in Syracuse, said the Onondaga County Child Abuse Hotline received more than 5,000 calls in 2010. There were a total of 9,000 children who were suspected of being abused. Cecile said the medical component of the advocacy center saw 300 children last year who were suspected of being abused. Of these children, she said, 134 were 6 years old or younger.

New York state assemblymen James Tedsico and George Amedore recently proposed the ‘College Coaches and Professionals Reporting Act’ bill, which would add college-level personnel to the list of mandated reporters, said Adam Kramer, chief of staff for Tedisco.

Mandated reporters are people that, according to New York state law, have to report physical or sexual abuse, whether they witness it or suspect it, to police, Tedisco said. Mandated reporters include teachers of kindergarten classes through high school classes, guidance counselors, principles, high school coaches, doctors, nurses, police and therapists, among others. Mandated reporters who fail to report child abuse can be charged with a misdemeanor and face up to one year in jail, Kramer said.

Because many colleges sponsor programs for children, such as sports camps and tutoring programs, the assemblymen want to add college coaches, athletic directors, professors and other college-level professionals to the list, Kramer said.

‘We’re not trying to move legislative mountains, we just want to add these individual professions on the college level to New York state mandated reporters,’ he said.

College-level personnel are probably not listed as mandated reporters currently because under New York state law, a child is defined as 17 years old or younger, Cecile said. Because college-level personnel don’t work with children on a regular basis, this could be why they were left off the list.

Cecile said she thinks the bill would pass easily in New York state. ‘I think with the Penn State scandal, it may get passed because everybody’s in the heat of the moment,’ she said. 

Cecile said although adding college-level personnel to the New York state mandated reporters and law is important, it is disappointing that there needs to be a law at all.

She said: ‘It’s too bad that we have to mandate or legislate individuals to report suspected abuse.’

snbouvia@syr.edu

Published on November 16, 2011 at 12:00 pm

Contact Stephanie: snbouvia@syr.edu | @snbouvia