Recently, the St. Louis Community College Meramec campus was the scene of a grisly sexual attack by a male student on a female student. Apparently, after campus police detained the young man, they released him before he could be presented before a judge. After the assault victim made the incident public, the alleged perpetrator was arrested and held by St. Louis County police.
These actions led to public accusations, concerns for student safety, doubts of confidence in school officials and the resignation of the Meramec campus president. This doesn’t even include the trauma suffered by the young student.
The one voice that has given comfort to both the students and the public during this episode has been that of St. Louis Community College Chancellor Myrtle Dorsey. Dr. Dorsey quickly assessed the situation, apologized to the victim, spoke to the appropriate school personnel, and created a plan to better inform students of potential risks, which will hopefully reduce the chances of a repeat incidence. That’s leadership!
As leaders of the Ecumenical Leadership Council – St. Louis Chapter, representing  almost 80 predominantly African-American churches in the St. Louis area, our churches have a large population of female college students. It gives us, and their parents, a sense of relief that if those young ladies are attending St. Louis Community College, Dr. Dorsey will do everything possible to make sure that they are in very safe and capable hands.
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Bishop Lawrence M. Wooten
Rev. Douglas Parham
Ecumenical Leadership Council
Clayton