On Oct. 18, a single phrase rang through the march in action, where students protested the mishandling of a sexual assault case at the hands of LSU’s French Studies Department: “Dr. Russo’s got to go.”
Almost six months later, Adelaide Russo’s name still appears on the course listings of a senior level elective in the fall, despite multiple allegations lobbied against her related to her knowledge of multiple sexual assaults within the French Department.
Russo was removed from her position as chair of the French Studies Department on Oct. 13.
Russo currently teaches FREN 2101, Intermediate French, and is set to teach FREN 4050, French Literature of the 20th Century, in the fall.
On Oct. 5, the Advocate reported on a lawsuit filed by a group of LSU students against former graduate student Edouard d’Espalungue d’Arros.
The lawsuit that was filed by six unnamed woman, which listed Russo as a defendant, claimed that she ignored student complaints about French native d’Espalungue, who was accused by six women of sexual misconduct from 2017 to 2020 as a graduate student in the university’s French Studies program.
Following his 2018 arrest in Alexandria after a University of Louisiana at Lafayette student accused d’Espalungue of rape, Russo reportedly continued to allow d’Espalungue to work with undergraduates directly, The Advocate reported. d’Espalungue has since left the United States and returned to France.
In the wake of the Advocate’s reporting, Russo was removed from her position as the French Studies’ Department Chair and replaced by French Studies professor Gregory Stone.
“Dr. Russo has been removed as chair of the department but is not being placed on administrative leave from her faculty position,” LSU Spokesperson Ernie Ballard said. “She has no advising responsibilities for student organizations or departmental groups, and we believe there is very low risk of immediate possibility of harm. We may change our actions in the future, but at this point we do not have sufficient information to take additional steps.”
Prior to her removal as chair, Russo was already on sabbatical. Stone said that she applied for sabbatical in September 2020, a full year before the lawsuit was filed, and the sabbatical was effective in the fall of 2021.
She returned to teaching in January.
Her removal as chair came on recommendation by the Office of Title IX following The Advocate’s reporting, Stone said.
Following the listing of Russo’s classes for the fall, a letter, shared with the Reveille, was released sharing frustrations students had with Russo’s presence in classrooms.
The letter, written by French junior Ali Redmann, demanded “that the details of the findings regarding the actions (and inactions) of Russo be released in a timely and public manner.”
“Allowing her to continue to teach before the findings of the investigation are released is borderline criminally negligent and directly contrast all statements that LSU and the Department of French Studies have released regarding the multitude of sexual abuse scandals in recent years,” Redmann’s letter read.
Despite protests, letters, fliers and emails, including messages Stone was not at liberty to share, all objecting to Russo’s teaching, her removal from the classroom is not up to the French Studies Department, unlike her chair position.
“Neither our department, nor the Dean’s office, has any authority to remove her from teaching,” Stone said. “Those who would be involved would be the Offices of Academic Affairs, Human Resources and Title IX.”
Following the letter, Angelina Cantelli, co-founder and president of Tigers Against Sexual Assault, found it disappointing to learn of Russo’s continued status as a professor.
“We heard a lot from students who rightfully did not want to take her class this semester or are under the belief that we are that she should not be in contact with students until the investigation is over,” Cantelli said. “At TASA [and other organizations], we have been working with survivors who have been affected by Russo.”
One such survivor was asked to attend a meeting with Dr. Stone with leadership from Feminists in Action and TASA, but, as Cantelli said, she “didn’t want to rehash the trauma.”
“She’s chosen to wait to speak at any meetings until there is enough attention on it by LSU administration,” Cantelli said. “All that being said, TASA has stepped in on her behalf.”
Since the lawsuit and the events that followed, TASA has been working with state legislators to draft legislation that would prohibit individuals under investigation for Title IX violations from teaching students.
TASA teamed up with LSU College Democrats and Cooperation Rouge, along with other organizations, to issue a joint statement on Russo’s presence in the classroom. The statement, released Monday, echoed the language of Redmann’s letter, pleading with LSU to “let her file papers, print exams, or buy coffee for the office—anything to keep her away from students.”
“Nearly two years have passed since the details of the case came into the public eye, and nearly four have passed since students suffered at the hands of a man LSU employed,” the statement read. “Until the lawsuit is resolved, Dr. Russo should not be allowed to teach in the classroom or interact with the very students she is accused of dismissing and abusing.”
The full statement, addressed to LSU President William F. Tate IV, Stone, Dean Tony Blanchard and others, is available via the social media accounts of LSU College Democrats and TASA.
After the statement, Cantelli hopes their cause will bring awareness to the issue as the fall semester approaches.
“We are of the belief that she shouldn’t be in direct contact with students and that it is obviously damaging to survivors,” Cantelli said. “But it also sets students up for retaliation directly and retaliation is explicating against the law. So LSU is creating an environment that puts people at risk of perpetuating this violence.”
