“As soon as we figured out what was wrong, we acknowledged it, and we fixed it.”

That’s what Liberty University President Dondi Costin told Liberty students in response to the historic $14 million fine imposed on Liberty for violating federal campus safety law.

The Department of Education’s report shows that Liberty severely mishandled reports of sexual violence and failed to properly report campus crime information. The fine is the largest ever imposed under the Clery Act.

To be sure, Liberty’s administration ultimately wants its students to be safe. Liberty is in the process of getting into complete compliance with the law, and many staff have a very sincere desire to make things right. But for years, Liberty has prioritized its reputation over safety and compliance with the law. And Costin’s claim that Liberty handled the situation swiftly and properly is blatantly false.

The history that led to this moment matters. And with Liberty’s history in mind, Costin’s posturing sends a signal that despite being one of the world’s largest Christian institutions, Liberty still has no interest in a foundational Christian practice: confessing and asking for forgiveness.

This is not Liberty’s first time being fined for Clery Act violations. In 2005, a student survivor of sexual violence and her friend pushed the school to make changes to campus safety policy and were ignored. A federal investigation followed in 2010, and Liberty was forced to pay a small fine.

But the school did not address the core problems that led to the investigation. And this allowed the violations that prompted the recent Department of Education investigation.

In other words, Liberty was told what was wrong in 2005, but Liberty did not acknowledge it and did not fix it.

In 2021, a wave of allegations from Jane Does again shed light on Liberty’s failure to adequately handle sexual violence cases. The Jane Does were repeatedly told by administrators that the problem was being dealt with. Meanwhile, many were having trouble even accessing school records about their own cases.

Liberty would go on to offer the Jane Does miniscule four-figure settlements, continuing to avoid direct acknowledgement, and accusing at least one of them of lying about the details of her assault.

Again, Liberty was told what was wrong, but Liberty did not acknowledge it and did not fix it.

As allegations kept coming, Vice President of Communications Scott Lamb was fired after confronting then-President Jerry Prevo over the school’s mishandling of the Jane Doe cases. A lawsuit followed, and Liberty fought aggressively to avoid admitting that Lamb was fired for blowing the whistle.

Again, Liberty was told what was wrong but did not acknowledge it. Instead, they attacked someone who called them out.

Later that year, I and a student group, called Justice for Janes, held a press conference with survivor advocate and attorney, Rachael Denhollander, and former Liberty professor, Karen Swallow Prior. During the conference, we called for an independent investigation to examine Liberty’s leadership, procedures, and culture across relevant departments and make the results public.

We also announced an event that evening on Liberty’s campus to put pressure on the school, speak to students, and read a letter from the Jane Doe whose 2005 case resulted in the school’s first Clery investigation.

But Liberty’s General Counsel David Corry informed us that we were unwelcome on Liberty’s campus. Ironically, Corry said Liberty students needed protection from our event highlighting campus safety.

“Our students expect Liberty to protect them from unwelcome disruptions to their educational experience from those without official business on campus,” Corry said.

We indicated that we would come to campus anyway. Local reporters followed, despite Liberty’s then-ban on media.

So, to avoid the poor optics of a confrontation with campus police, Liberty partially gave in. They told us to gather in one very particular area between the highway and a busy street, because it technically wasn’t Liberty property.

Despite being awkwardly sandwiched between two busy roads and not being able to hear much over the traffic, about 200 students and staff joined us that evening as campus police watched from a distance.

The following day, Liberty’s Board of Trustees released a statement that vaguely referenced an internal investigation that would help limit further legal liability. The results never became public. School leaders still did not acknowledge any wrongdoing. And they ended the statement by declaring that Liberty had had “a banner year.”

Fortunately, the Department of Education investigation, sparked by a separate complaint, was already brewing. Federal investigators would be on campus within a few months, forcing Liberty fix what it refused to even acknowledge.

The results of the investigation are important. Though $14 million is a small fine compared to Liberty’s immense wealth, the unprecedented amount certainly signals to the public that historically, Liberty has failed miserably when it comes to student safety. And the post-review monitoring is crucial to ensure that the school solves the problem this time.

To this day, Liberty has not acknowledged that a rape was reported to them in 2005.

Statement from Jane Doe 2 – originally from Nov. 2021

This opinion article does not necessarily reflect the views of The Roys Report. 

Dustin Wahl is the co-founder of Save71, an organization to promote accountability at his alma mater, Liberty University.