By Michelle McIntosh,
Link Johnson and Sana Cole
The Scene staff
Forest Park officials held a safety forum last week in the wake of a scandal on the Meramec campus involving a bathroom assault.
Campus police didn’t report the assault to the public, causing a controversy that prompted President George Wasson to resign.
At the forum, Forest Park police chief Richard Banahan talked to a packed classroom of faculty, staff and students about the college’s Emergency Response Team.
“We train all the time,” he said. “Every classroom has a panic alarm and phone. If it doesn’t, it will.”
Funeral services program director Steve Smith, a team member, explained how everyone can work together to keep campus safe.
Vice President of Student Affairs Thomas Walker encouraged people to contact police if they see anything unique or strange.
“(But) we are not trying to create an environment of hysteria,” he said.
Walker noted that even before the Meramec case, district officials had planned to meet and discuss making the college’s text-alert system mandatory for students, faculty and staff.
“One of the nice parts of the STLCC alert is that you receive notices almost immediately,” Banahan said.
At a question-and-answer session after the forum, someone asked how Forest Park police would have handed the Meramec assault.
“I send out text (and) email messages when something happens,” Banahan said. “Why? I have nothing to hide.”
Meramec’s problems began April 18, when student Blythe Grupe, 18, of Chesterfield, was washing her hands in a campus restroom shortly after 8 a.m.
A male student came up behind her, put her in a chokehold and covered her mouth.
“He was trying to calm me down by saying ‘hush’ softly,” Grupe said. “I was on the floor asking him to stop because it hurt.”
Grupe was able to get out a scream, alerting someone who ran in to help.
Suspect Jevon Mallory, 18, of St. John, was apprehended by police outside the restroom. He was arrested, banned from campus and released pending charges.
The public didn’t learn what happened until Grupe’s father contacted the media. Mallory was rearrested on April 23. Prosecutors charged him with felony assault.
“I’m a little shocked,” Meramec’s Vice President of Academic Affairs Andrew Langrehr told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “It’s a rude awakening.”
Meramec police faced a wave of criticism over their handing of the suspect and investigation. Wasson stepped down April 29.
“The safety and security of our students, faculty and staff is our highest priority,” stated an email from St. Louis Community College Chancellor Myrtle Dorsey.
“The past week has taught us that we all need to work together toward that common goal.”
The scandal has been a hot topic on the Forest Park campus in the past week.
Software development student Jonathan Harris thought Wasson “threw in the towel” too soon.
“I would have tried to do my best instead of quitting like that,” he said.
Associate humanities professor Mark Kruger has heard students talking about the assault in his classes.
“(They) have complained to me about the actions of the college in not warning them that this person who had attacked someone was free, and they had no knowledge of it,” he said.
Forest Park dental hygiene major Sally Malpocker thought Grupe’s experience sounded like something out of a scary movie.
“It’s one of my worst fears,” said Malpocker, referring to a bathroom attack.
Many Forest Park students, faculty and staff feel the entire college district can learn from the Meramec case.
“There is always room for improvement,” said Tracy Hall, vice president for academic affairs.