Delaware State University recently came under fire for requiring students in its new Safe Space Coalition to sign Non-Disclosure Agreements.
DSU rescinded the NDAs Friday after backlash from students and Delaware ACLU, which said they threatened students’ free speech. DSU President Tony Allen responded in a letter to the university community, saying, “Simply put: On the confidentiality agreements, we went too far.”
Allen explained the NDA’s were meant to “honor and respect survivors’ privacy,” and DSU “never intended to silence debate or comment.” ACLU president Mike Brickner says they were too broad.
“We also pointed out that it could prevent people who have direct lived experience with sexual assault from wanting to participate,” Brickner says. "One of the big things that came out of the #MeToo movement was the prolific use of NDA's by alleged abusers and institutions who protect them, and many survivors might not want to sign those kinds of NDAs."
Brickner adds it’s important to give survivors an opportunity to speak openly and not assume every survivor wants secrecy. He says he’s also waiting to see DSU take stronger steps to address campus safety issues.
“And that's not going to happen just by forming a coalition and just by having the information be transparent, those are just the initial baby steps," Brickner says. "Now the real work begins where the university has to engage all of those stakeholders, and has to come up with concrete steps to address the concerns that students are bringing up.”
The Safe Space Coalition consists of students, parents, community members and DSU employees advising the school on creating a safer campus following several recent campus sexual assault incidents.
Brickner says now that students can speak openly, the real work for the university can begin.
“We are always happy to work with campus administrators to navigate these issues to make sure that they are addressing these issues of sexual assault and harassment," he says. "It’s really important in order to have an effective and safe learning environment for young people at these universities.”
