Rape culture infects every corner of the university, fostering an environment that protects abusers and dismisses survivors. This was spotlighted last year by the Athletic Department’s mishandling of Title IX cases, and now by similar failures in the Department of French Studies.
It started back in 2018 when a French LSU graduate student, Edouard d’Espalungue d’Arros, was arrested and charged with third-degree rape against a UL Lafayette student.
Despite this, d’Espalungue was still allowed to work for the university’s French department. Within weeks of his arrest, complaints of sexual harassment started to role in, The Advocate reported in October. He started a French journal with the university’s support and continued to work with undergraduates, giving him access to many students.
Since 2018, d’Espalungue has been involved in at least seven reported sexual assault, harassment and rape cases. D’Espalungue fled the country in 2020 to avoid prosecution and remains a fugitive in France.
Adelaide Russo, the chair of the French department at the time, failed to protect her students. She allowed d’Espalungue to work and have access to students, despite knowledge of the arrest and numerous other complaints.
The Advocate reported that Russo repeatedly defended d’Espalungue, proclaiming his innocence and telling women who he harassed to take his unwanted advances as a compliment. After public revelations of Russo enabling an alleged serial rapist were brought to light, she was removed as chair of the French department.
Russo is listed as a defendant in a civil lawsuit that argues LSU officials failed to take claims against d’Espalungue seriously. Still, she continues to teach at the university.
Russo is currently teaching a 1000-level class and will be teaching a 4000-level class in the fall. 4000-level classes are required for all French majors and minors, and there is only a small selection of these courses available.
This means that some students who were directly affected by d’Espalungue will have no choice but to take Russo’s class.
Feminists in Action has demanded the university immediately remove Russo from teaching.
Myrissa Eisworth, a sociology and anthropology sophomore, is an officer for FIA and has a French minor.
“We are not asking her to be fired, just because there hasn’t been a finding in the court,” Eisworth said. “We want her to be removed from teaching until there is a finding. It worries me that LSU does not take sexual assault victims seriously.”
The fact that the university still allows someone who defended an accused rapist to work and interact with victims is yet another example of how it does not take sexual assault cases seriously. These actions perpetrate rape culture at the university.
It is the responsibility of the university to protect the well-being of students. Unfortunately, the university continually works against that responsibility, making it terrifying to be a female student. It is certain that there have been unreported sexual assault cases on campus because of the university’s failure to act against sexual violence.
The university needs to properly investigate all sexual assault cases and suspend any accused enabler or perpetrator involved until the case is resolved. The university should not take the risk of having someone guilty continue to work with students. The university needs to do better.
Kacey Buercklin is a 21-year-old political communication senior from Murrayville, GA.
LSU geography masters student Jessie Fay Parrott raises a sign LSU Monday, Oct. 18, 2021, during the Feminists in Action protest following reports of LSU mishandling sexual assault cases at Hodges Hall on LSU's campus.
