UNC SB President Says Charges Against Gambill Weren’t Started By Honor Court

“People are definitely frustrated, and understandably so,” Leimenstoll says. “(They’re) concerned about some of the allegations that have been put out there and kind of asking a lot of questions. I think that that’s completely reasonable. I think there’s definitely issues about sexual assault and safety on both UNC’s campus and pretty much campuses all across the country.”

Gambill has been charged by the UNC Honor Court with engaging in disruptive or intimidating behavior. The person who allegedly filed the complaint against Gambill was her ex-boyfriend who she says she has not named publicly throughout the entire process. When she presented her original case to the Honor Court in the spring of 2012, she named her assaulter, but all cases are private.

Leimenstoll says it’s important to know from where exactly the Honor Court charges come.

“The Attorneys General staff does decide whether the charge is worth investigating, but it’s my understanding they are not the ones who write up the charge or decide to charge someone,” Leimenstoll says.

The person who accused Gambill says she damaged his or her character by continuing to express it to the public. Late last month, Gambill and others who claimed to be sexually abused, held a press conference about how the University has been handling sexual assault cases.

At that press conference, while not focusing her attention on her attacker, she expressed the fact that she’s upset with how the University handled her case.

“The vast majority of the trial was spent on what I had done wrong or why I hadn’t left him earlier, why I was ever around him in the first place instead of why did he did this to me,” Gambill says. “So it was a really victim-blaming focus.”

Leimenstoll says the University has since made changes to its sexual assault polices.

“The student-run Honor Court system did indeed handle sexual assault cases at one time, but that’s been changed since Landen’s went through, in part because of that and in part because of a lot of other issues that are raised with students handling sexual assault cases,” Leimenstoll says. “I think that the Honor Court still does what it is meant to do very well.”

Gambill has commented on the fact that she believes these charges are in retaliation to her comments about the Honor Court. But, as Leimenstoll said, the Honor Court did not create the charges, only expressed that they will be investigated.

He says the Honor Court is simply a means for students to resolve issues they don’t want to take to a higher system.

“If they have a conduct case, they may not want to go through a criminal proceeding, but they do want some kind of justice,” Leimenstoll says. “I think that the Honor Court system is built to kind of handle that and support that because we want to make sure that students are cared for in the best way possible.”

And, Leimenstoll says charges brought against someone are not a sentencing.

“If they decide it’s worth investigating, that does not mean that they think that person is clearly guilty or clearly not guilty,” Leimenstoll says. “It means that they think there’s enough uncertainty that more information and perhaps some type of trial is indeed necessary to find out.”

In fact, a line from the note in which Gambill was informed that she was charged says “Please note that being charged with a violation does not imply guilt.”

Leimenstoll says it’s important to know processes are in place to be sure safety is upheld.

“The University does have a responsibility to protect every student here at Carolina,” Leimenstoll says. “That’s part of its job. I think its important that people keep that in mind that everyone deserves to be protected if they’re a student here at Carolina.”

‹

UNC To Suspend Honor Court Hearing Of UNC Student Pending External Review

CHAPEL HILL – UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp announced Tuesday that he has asked the Honor Court to suspend its hearing involving Landen Gambill. The hearing was scheduled to take place some time in the next couple weeks and centers around complaints made by Gambill’s ex-boyfriend that she engaged in disruptive or intimidating behavior by continually […]

UNC SB President Elect Says Confusion About Gambill Charges Fills Campus

CHAPEL HILL – The recent controversy surrounding UNC sophomore Landen Gambill has the University’s Student Body President elect pondering issues that he says need continued attention. “I think things have already been put in place to suggest that the system’s changing,” Lambden says. “Hopefully that will indicate that the issue will be handled differently and […]

UNC Student Faces Punishment For Speaking Out Against Sexual Assault Attacker

CHAPEL HILL – According to multiple sources, one of the students who recently charged UNC with mishandling her sexual assault case has been accused of breaking the Honor Code. In the spring of 2012, Landen Gambill, a sophomore at UNC, told the Honor Court she was assaulted repeatedly by her ex-boyfriend. Sexual assault cases have […]

Gambill's Ex Protests Assault Charges, Alleges Harassment

CHAPEL HILL- While dozens of students gathered Friday on campus in support of sophmore Landen Gambill, a lawyer representing her ex-boyfriend sought to refute her accusation of rape. According to the Daily Tar Heel, attorney John Gresham said his client has suffered from Gambill’s efforts to publicize the university’s handling of sexual assaults. The un-named […]

Rally On UNC's Campus Friday To Support Landen Gambill

CHAPEL HILL – A rally to support the dismissal of charges against UNC sophomore Landen Gambill will take place Friday afternoon. All week, Gambill has been at the center of attention after she was informed last Friday that charges have been filed against her by her ex-boyfriend stating she has done damage to his character. […]

Students Speak Out Against Honor Court Charges On UNC Sophomore

CHAPEL HILL – Students hanging out in “The Pit” on UNC’s campus Wednesday reacted with disappointment and shock at Landen Gambill being charged with the Honor Court infraction of engaging in disruptive or intimidating behavior. Funmi Solar, a graduating senior who knows Gambill personally, notes that the charges bring the silencing and alienation of those […]

UNC Issues Statement Regarding Landen Gambill, Honor Court Charges

Chancellor Thorp, University issue statements about Honor Court allegation The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill today (Feb. 26) issued comments from Chancellor Holden Thorp and a new statement about an Honor Court allegation: Quote from Chancellor Holden Thorp: “Student well-being is one of the most pressing issues in higher education today. The Carolina […]

Low-Hanging Fruit: UNC Students Bring Awareness to Sexual Violence on Campus

Fruit,” an art display at UNC last month, was meant to bring awareness to sexual violence on campus — a known, and growing, epidemic.

UNC Police Investigating Sexual Assault Report in Residence Hall

Editor’s Note: The following story contains mention of sexual assault that may be disturbing to some readers. The UNC Police Department is investigating a report of sexual assault, where an unidentified person purportedly followed a student into their dorm room. The university shared an Alert Carolina message on Saturday at 10:47 p.m. to inform the […]

UNC Alerts Campus Community of Multiple Sexual Assaults By Same Individual

UNC Police alerted the UNC Community Friday evening of a sexual assault at Granville Towers which happened in September. This is the third sexual assault done by the same individual between August and October this year.

›