Calvo blasts UOG leadership for mistreatment of student victims & whistleblower professor
For immediate release, January 22, 2016
Call Amanda Blas at 475-9309 or 687-6219 for more info
(Hagatna, Guam) In his soon-to-be-released weekly address, Governor Calvo is calling on citizens to reject the way UOG leadership has treated the case of two students who reported sexual assault by one of their professors.
The Governor implores any other victims or witnesses of this or other alleged crimes to come forward and not let the way UOG has treated these cases keep them from speaking up. The Governor provides Chief Prosecutor Phil Tydingco’s number — 475-3406 (ext. 2410) in the address for victims and witnesses to call.
You may read the address below. The audio file will be ready over the next couple hours. The video recording will be released Sunday.
– end of release; address follows —
Standing up for our daughters
By Eddie Baza Calvo
My dear people of Guam,
Every society — since time immemorial — has dealt with the moral stain of sexual predators. We’ve become more attuned to solutions that work with the evolution of our values.
I thought about this as I read about the young girl whose father found sexual phone messages from a man who knew she was underage. As a father, I can tell you my first instinct was to think about my own daughters. I always want them to be safe and happy. As for my second instinct, well, let’s just say I wouldn’t be kind to the monster who even thinks of hurting one of my girls.
I would not be kind to any predator who preys on women and children. My family and my staff know this about me. I’m a big believer in second chances — but not for those who murder and rape women or children. This comes from much more than a refined sense of justice in our growing society. It is a part of our culture — it is embedded within us to protect women and children — to stand up for them and to be there for them.
That’s why I cannot believe how the University leadership has treated the case of two young ladies, ages 20 and 23, who courageously came forward to report a sexual assault by one of their professors.
In the news and in email I’ve seen, UOG leadership has stood up for the alleged predator … and hasn’t said a thing about the victims. And in a deplorable turn of events in this scandal, the one professor who tried to stand up for the young ladies was persecuted, with a formal complaint against him for speaking up. This institution is subsidized with $35 million of your money.
There was a day, not too long ago, when predators got away with molesting women and children because no one would say anything. Unfortunately, that still happens in some cases. But, we’ve gotten better over the past few years. We’ve helped each other to understand that we have a moral and a legal duty to speak up for people being abused. Silence is wrong. Institutionalized silence should be criminal.
I want the victims of this alleged crime to know that how they were treated by UOG is not reflective of society and our culture. I want them to know they did right by speaking up and standing up for themselves. If there are any more victims and witnesses — whether student or faculty — I urge you to come forward. Report this to the police or the prosecutors. Call Chief Prosecutor Phil Tydingco at 475-3406, at extension 2410. The law is on your side. It is just too bad how the executives of the school you pay for a higher education treated you this way.
If we want decent strangers to be there for our daughters — our sons — our mothers, wives, and sisters, whenever they are in harm’s way, then we need to reject the vultures of our values, and those who would cover-up this behavior. Silence is as much the demon as the evil choices of the predator. We must call it out. We must speak up for victims. We must stand up for our daughters.
