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Survey: Ashland safer than average Students staged a sit-in Dec. 5 at Ashland High School to protest the school administration's handling of reports of sexual assults. Daily Tidings file photo Sunday Dec 25, 2016 at 12:58 PM Dec 25, 2016 at 12:58 PM Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings @Joe_Zavala99 When it comes to sex crimes, bullying and abuse of any kind, every data point on a report has a sad story behind it. But Ashland parents who have followed the case of an alleged sexual assault involving a local teen and are worried about their own children may take solace in the results of the latest Oregon Healthy Teens Survey. The anonymous biennial survey, administered in odd-numbered years to Oregon’s eighth- and 11th-grade students as a collaborative effort by the Oregon Department of Education and Oregon Health Authority, is designed to give schools and communities “a clearer picture of youth strengths and problems,” and the picture it paints of Ashland appears to be one that’s at least as safe and in most cases safer than the rest of the state. According to the 2015 OHTS, Ashland High juniors last year were less likely to be physically forced to have sex, slightly less likely to be hit, slapped or physically hurt by a boyfriend or girlfriend and less likely to be bullied at school than Oregon students from other districts, on average. On the question “Have you ever been physically forced to have sexual intercourse when you did not want to?” 2.7 percent of Ashland High juniors said "yes" compared to 5.7 percent statewide. On the question, “During the past 12 months, did your boyfriend or girlfriend ever hit, slap, or physically hurt you on purpose?” 4 percent of AHS juniors said yes compared to 4.5 percent statewide. Another question asks, “During the past 30 days have you ever been bullied at school (or on the way to or from school) in relation to any of the following issues” and lists several possibilities, including race or religion and “unwanted sexual comments or attention.” Ashland’s results were better than state averages, if not anything to cheer about — 85.4 percent of AHS juniors said they had never been bullied (the Oregon average was 80.1 percent), and 3.3 percent reported experiencing unwanted sexual comments or attention, roughly half of the state average (6.2 percent). Ashland Director of Student Services Samuel Bogdanove, whose office is in the district building which was the site of an anti-sexual violence sit-in protest Dec. 12, said the Oregon Healthy Teens Survey is important because its methodology is sound, but added that the district’s numbers, while favorable comparatively, are still sobering. “That our kids are having these kinds of experiences is heartbreaking as a parent and as an educator,” said Bogdanove, who has two daughters. “I don’t want to say you can feel good about any of this data … but one of the things I value about this particular data set is that these are students self-reporting without any filters between the data and what we receive on aggregate. So who knows ultimately if kids are comfortable reporting in this kind of format, but I think it’s as close as we’re going to get to really getting a picture of what kids experience and what they’re willing to share. So that piece is helpful.” Ashland interim Superintendent Suzanne Cusick agreed, and encouraged victims to come forward when they feel a crime has been committed. “Well, I’m always relieved that our data is improved or better than the statewide average,” she said. “However, we don’t want any acts of sexual violence or any concerns about personal safety to be on our campuses. We are grateful when kids report. We want them to report so we can do something about it. I view Ashland High School as a safe campus. I can look right outside my window and see the kids on a daily basis. I am grateful when they report that they have concerns. “Now in this case (the OHTS), they reported on a survey. I would hope that they would report directly to a staff member.” Sexual assault and the district's response to allegations became a hot topic locally after a student posted a message on social media Dec. 5 accusing a classmate of assaulting her and "multiple" other girls, prompting an official response from Principal Erika Bare, the sit-in protest and, on Dec. 15, a public forum at Southern Oregon University’s Stevenson Union building. The case is still under investigation by both the local police and the district. Cusick and at least one school board member attended the forum. She said it included a video of three “young women who stated they were victims” followed by a question and answer session, during which district employees were criticized for their response to reports of sexual violence. Cusick took issue with some of the accusations lobbed at the district. “My perspective is the district administrators and superintendent were accused of a number of things that are not accurate, but I’m continuing to work on that and I’m a very open person so we will do everything we can to ensure the emotional safety of our kids,” she said. “There were a few individuals in the audience that came up and talked to me and, at least in two cases, felt that the statements were perhaps inaccurate or certainly accusatory.” The district last week Monday issued a public response that included a link to a new, easier-to-find “Title IX Compliance” web page, and announced that Cusick is in the process of forming a “Title IX District Team” that will be comprised of parents, community members, staff and students. “The purpose will be to discuss the problems both current and past, to learn from other K-12 model Title IX school districts, and to write an action plan for the Ashland School District’s ongoing Title IX efforts,” reads the statement, which is available on the district website (www.ashland.k12.or.us). “This plan will be presented to the community for your feedback and then the plan will be widely disseminated. We ask for your help, ideas, and support. There are no easy answers, but we believe that if we all work together as a community to educate and support our kids, we will see real progress as we seek to end sexual violence.” Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs receiving any federal funds. Under Title IX, discrimination on the basis of sex can include sexual harassment or sexual violence, such as rape, sexual assault, sexual battery and sexual coercion. Joe Zavala is a reporter for the Ashland Daily Tidings. Reach him at 541-821-0829 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @Joe_Zavala99.