Nationally-Recognized Speaker Delivers #SetTheExpectation Talk at HPU

Brenda Tracy, who travels the U.S. speaking at universities about the prevention of sexual assault and violence, visited Hawai‘i Pacific University on Friday, Nov. 17. More than 250 HPU students, faculty, and staff, including a large contingent of student-athletes and coaches, attended the day’s culminating event, which focused on Tracy’s #SetTheExpectation campaign.   

In the opening of her presentation, Tracy made herself relatable to the students, telling them she had two sons who were their age. Tracy proceeded to tell the room full of strangers her painful, personal story. In 1998, Tracy was brutally raped by four men, two of whom played football at Oregon State University.      

The day after the hours-long incident, Tracy contemplated suicide, but the single mother worried about who would take care of her two young sons. For 16 years, Tracy lived in silence, keeping the pain to herself. She often worried about what she would tell her sons of the incident. Then she met a sports writer for The Oregonian who helped Tracy publicly tell her story, which published in November 2014. This was the beginning of Tracy’s quest to effect change, advocating for no tolerance of sexual assault and violence.        

Two years after Tracy’s story was in The Oregonian, she had the opportunity to meet Mike Riley — the former Oregon State football coach of two of the men who raped her — at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, where he is now the football coach. Prior to their meeting, Tracy admitted to resenting Riley more than her rapists. When they met, Tracy was able to ask Riley the questions she had formulated over the years, and she also shared the story of her rape with his football players. The visit with Riley ended well, providing some closure for Tracy.

Fifty-plus university speaking engagements later, the HPU ‘ohana was fortunate to hear Tracy’s story firsthand. In her talk, Tracy cited a statistic: 98 percent of rapes are committed by men but only 10 percent of the male population is committing the rapes. She then challenged all of the men in the HPU audience to take an active role in being part of the solution to end sexual assault and violence. Tracy mentioned with pride that her son led the charge to petition the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), asking why they were not taking a more serious stance on sexual violence and that they needed to create a policy to ban violent athletes. The initiative of Tracy’s son sparked the creation of the NCAA Commission to Combat Campus Sexual Violence on which Tracy now sits.

Front: SVP & General Counsel Jan Boivin, Brenda Tracy, President John Gotanda,
AVP & Dean of Students Marites McKee; Back: VP of University Relations Sam Moku, Executive Director of Athletics Vince Baldemor, VP of Enrollment Management Greg Grauman,  AVP & CIO Cody Down

 By the end of Tracy’s presentation, it was evident she had made an impact on the nearly 300 HPU ‘ohana in the room. She had delivered a clear and powerful message that it is everyone’s collective responsibility — men and women — to end sexual assault and violence. Tracy amplified her message, noting it isn’t only about looking out for one’s family and friends, but caring for strangers, too. Associate Professor of Psychology Vince Tsushima, Ph.D., stood up, introduced himself, and told Tracy he would never forget her presentation.   

“Through her tireless efforts, Brenda Tracy is a champion for ending sexual assault and violence, and we are grateful for Ms. Tracy sharing her powerful and inspiring story with our HPU ‘ohana,” HPU President John Gotanda said. “I encourage each member of our community to join Ms. Tracy, empowering ourselves as agents of change.”   

By putting into practice the values of aloha, pono, and kuleana HPU embraces, the university ‘ohana can take a stance to “set the expectation” that sexual assault and violence is never okay.

Brenda Tracy’s HPU visit was spearheaded by Senior Vice President and General Counsel Jan Boivin, Assistant Vice President, Dean of Students, and Title IX Coordinator Marites McKee, and Executive Director of Athletics Vince Baldemor.

Additional support for the event was provided by Counseling and Behavioral Health Services psychologists, Kevin Bowman, Ph.D., and Kathryn Berrano, Ph.D., and the Title IX Deputy Coordinators Kathryn Conlon, Assistant Dean of Students/Director of Student Conduct, Natasa Revere, Associate Director of Athletics/Compliance, and Susan Gray, Manager, Employee Relations and EEO/AA Compliance.  

Title IX/Counseling & Behavioral Health team Marites McKee, Kevin Bowman, Ph.D., Susan Gray, Natasa Revere, Kathryn Conlon; not pictured Kathryn Berrano, Ph.D., Brenda Tracy, SVP & General Counsel Jan Boivin,
SVP & Provost Matthew Liao-Troth, Ph.D.

Mahalo to the “We Care” Campus Safety Program, HPU Athletics Department, and the HPU Student Activity Fee, for sponsoring the event. 

Front: Hooters GM Abel Diaz, Brenda Tracy, SVP & General Counsel Jan Boivin, Associate General Counsel Erika Strawn; Back: Security staff, Director Joe Tillotson, Jon Pinto, Chris Martin, Ana Pesaleli;
Director Business Development & Special Events Stephanie Blakeman, AVP & Dean of Students Marites McKee  

Prior to the main-event campus presentation by Tracy, she conducted training sessions for targeted groups including the university’s Title IX coordinators, mental health counselors, security officers, deans, and senior leadership. The management of Aloha Tower Marketplace restaurants/bars were also invited to attend a training session geared toward businesses serving alcohol.

For more information on Brenda Tracy and her #SetTheExpectation campaign, go to: www.brendatracy.com

HPU Campus Resources:

Safe Walk is available for HPU students, faculty, and staff 24/7 at Hawaii Loa Campus and the Downtown/ATM Campus. Security Phone Number: 808-544-1400
More information is posted here and on the HPU App.

Counseling and Behavioral Health Services provides FREE and CONFIDENTIAL counseling services to current registered HPU students. More information is posted here.

Title IX, “We Care” Any complaint of sex discrimination, sexual harassment, and sexual assault can be made to the Title IX Coordinator, who is responsible for overall administration of discrimination-related grievance procedures for faculty, staff, students, and other members of the University community. More information is posted here and on the HPU App.