President Elson S. Floyd issued this statement Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 25:
WSU is deeply committed to maintaining a safe campus. The recent alleged assaults upon female students on our campus are unacceptable and will not be tolerated.
Although the reporting party in the third incident, alleged to have occurred Monday evening, has recanted her story, we remain determined to investigate the first two reported incidents fully and prosecute anyone found responsible.
I urge everyone on our campus to provide all assistance possible to campus police officers to help identify the perpetrator or perpetrators. Toward that end, I am contributing $5,000 from my personal funds to establish a reward that will go to anyone who can provide information that leads to the arrest and successful prosecution of anyone responsible for these assaults.
On Tuesday morning, I presented a check in that amount to the WSU Women’s Resource Center, which will jointly administer the award fund in collaboration with the WSU Police Department. These funds will be maintained to reward anyone providing information that leads to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for any similar acts in the future.
Again, I encourage anyone with information that would be useful in investigating these cases to contact the WSU Police Department.
Also, I urge everyone to follow the guidelines for safe behavior outlined by the WSUPD. Be vigilant and aware of your surroundings at all times, don’t walk alone, stay in well-lighted areas and use safe means of transportation whenever possible.
For further information about safety resources available to students, faculty and staff, consult the campus safety plan at https://safetyplan.wsu.edu.
