Stanford agrees to Miller plaque

Decision ends years of tumult over a tablet with 2015 sexual assault survivor’s words

Stanford University officials have agreed to a plaque bearing a message from 2015 sexual assault survivor Chanel Miller, concluding years of protests that swirled in the aftermath of the high-profile case.

In a letter Tuesday, Provost Persis Drell said that she had rethought the meaning of the plaque in the “contemplative garden” near the site of the assault by then-student Brock Turner.

Last year, the university rejected Miller’s chosen quote for the plaque that read “You took away my worth, my privacy, my energy, my time, my safety, my intimacy, my confidence, my own voice, until today,” saying that the quote was not “supportive” of other survivors of sexual assault.

That spawned outrage from students and some faculty, who signed various petitions and hosted solidarity rallies to support the plaque and sexual assault survivors.

Now Drell said that “renewed interest” in the plaque — as well as discussions with students and faculty — had changed her view, along with a recent survey that revealed sexual violence occurs “far too often” in the university community.

Miller recently revealed her identity with the launch of a memoir, “Know My Name.”

“The original discussions around the proposed plaque for the garden left no one satisfied. The contemplative garden does need signage to explain what it is and what it signifies,” Drell wrote. “We want visitors to the site to understand its purpose. We also want them to have the opportunity to engage with the space in whatever way feels right for them, and we want visitors to seek support if they need it.”

Turner was sentenced to six months in jail but was released after three months. The sentence spurred both local and national outrage and launched discussions of how sexual assault should be handled in universities and beyond.

University administrators rejected more than one quote from Miller over the course of several months, prompting her to withdraw from discussions.

Drell said that the university has reached back out to her for permission to use her words.

The garden — which is located along Lake Lagunita behind a row of upperclassmen houses — would then be adorned with two plaques: One bearing Miller’s message, and another explaining the site’s purpose and providing contact information for a confidential support resource center.

Drell thanked the students and faculty who had spoken with her over the last year and a half and acknowledged that the university has room for improvement in addressing sexual violence.

“We still have far to go in building student confidence in our programs and resources … We need to confront sexual violence openly and aggressively at Stanford,” Drell wrote.