Auditors examine how SDSU investigates sexual assaults

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Thursday, October 27th.

After alleged gang rape, outside auditors will examine how SDSU investigates sexual assaults.

More on that next. But first... let’s do the headlines….

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A San Diego doctor was charged Wednesday with involuntary manslaughter for the death of a female inmate in 20-19.

Dr. Friederike Von Lintig is the second jail employee charged in the death of Elisa Serna..

The doctor was on duty at Las Colinas in Santee when Serna collapsed in front of a nurse.

Prosecutors say the nurse walked away and left Serna on the cell floor for about an hour before she returned with deputies to begin lifesaving measures.

The nurse was charged with involuntary manslaughter last year.

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California’s COVID state of emergency is set to end in February.

But there are concerns it may be too soon with the flu, COVID and R-S-V circulating.

Dr. Eric Topol is the director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla.

He says hospitals nationwide are seeing a surge in R-S-V cases among children, but the virus can affect older people too, especially those who are immunocompromised.

Topol says wearing a mask will give you extra protection against the viruses.

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San Diego air quality regulators will decide today on a timeline for New Leaf Biofuels to eliminate odors coming from its Barrio Logan factory.

The company makes diesel from old cooking oil and it creates a smell nearby-residents have been complaining about for almost a year.

The company says an odor control system will be installed in early December.

But, community advocates are calling for regulators to shut the business down until the system is installed and working.

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From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now. Stay with me for more of the local news you need.

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It’s been just over a year since a teenager alleged she was gang-raped by S-D-S-U football players at a Halloween party off campus.

However, no criminal charges have been filed and SDSU says its own investigation is still ongoing.

Meanwhile, KPBS reporter Alexander Nguyen says a team of outside auditors is examining how the university conducts these investigations.

Last year  … Jordan Rosenquist was just another like any other freshman on SDSU’s campus … then September 8th happened. “I was sexually assaulted in a SDSU dorm hall.” She immediately reported the assault to the university’s Title IX office, which is in charge of investigating allegations of sexual violence on campus. But instead of being helped, she says she felt pushback.  It was just three weeks into her college career. But that was just the start of her yearlong ordeal to get justice. Jordan Rosenquist Sexual Assault Survivor “I did not feel supported by the SDSU Title IX office at all. I felt like I was more working against them than they were working with me.” She says the university did not immediately inform her of her rights as a sexual assault victim. She had to hire a lawyer for to do that. That was not what’s supposed to happen under Title IX … says attorney Jenna Rangel. Jenna Rangel Attorney “When the school receives any report of sexual harassment or assault, they do have a duty to promptly respond and provide information about what their grievance process is, their investigative process, and then what supportive measures they might have available.” Rangel is currently representing the women’s rowing team who are suing S-D-S-U for Title IX violation in sports but is not a party to this case. Instances like Rosenquist are part of the reason why … in March… SDSU isn’t the only campus in the California State University system with issues surrounding Title iX. In fact, the  CSU Board of Trustees ordered a systemwide audit of the Title IX process at all 23 campuses. In a statement … then-acting CSU Chancellor Steve Relyea said: The CSU is initiating a Title IX assessment across the nation's largest public four-year higher education system to ensure the health, safety and welfare of our students, faculty and staff. The CSU said the goal of the assessment is to provide insights, recommendations, and resources for CSU’s Title IX and other civil rights training. The Chancellor's Office has hired the law firm Cozen O'Connor to conduct the audit. The audit started in March at Fresno State and auditors will be on the SDSU campus in November. A university spokesperson said in an emailed statement to KPBS that  the university cannot comment on specific cases and would not speak to the audit except to say it is coming.. next month will be San Diego State’s turn. Rangel expects auditors to thoroughly examine how SDSU Title IX office handles complaints. Jenna Rangel Attorney “I think they are going to be looking at all instances in which complaints were made how those complaints remain. Meaning do they have effective policies and procedures in place and notices in place to where the people who complained were able to find that information easily.” Rangel said the auditors will likely also look to see if there are any gaps and holes in what SDSU is doing currently to help victims in the future better. Jenna Rangel Attorney “Because ultimately, the goal, right, of Title IX is to prevent this stuff from happening to begin with.” But there is a wide discrepancy in how different campuses handle sexual assault and sexual harassment claims. Four recent cases highlight this. According to the Los Angeles Times, four high-ranking men at different CSUs were treated differently when they were accused of inappropriately touching women. Two of the men were allowed to continue to work during the investigation. A third was placed on leave and there was no formal investigation with the fourth. AT S-D-S-U … Rosenquist says the said the university needs to do a much better job of making victims feel protected. didn’t do anything to protect her against her attacker … even after she’s gotten a She talks about living in fear of her attacker even after getting a restraining order against him. Jordan Rosenquist Sexual Assault Survivor “I felt so much anxiety every single day when I was on campus because I even brought the restraining order to the San Diego State Police Department and officials on campus. I gave a copy to Title IX, and he actually violated that restraining order, and I reported it, and they did nothing about it.” Rosenquist says SDSU’s Title IX office told her they waited to investigate her allegation because it’s the school waited a long time to start the investigation because the school told her the policy is to wait until after the police investigation is over. In the statement to KPBS, the SDSU spokesperson said says no such policy is in place. The school says it cannot comment on a particular case. In a statement ot KPBS, SDSU says: “Once a complaint is filed, a Title IX investigator is assigned to the case and immediately connected with the student who filed the complaint.” But this was the same reason SDSU gave for not starting its investigation into the rape allegation against three football players at a Halloween party off campus last year.  That incident happened roughly a month after Rosenquist’s assault. “That hit a cord accord with me because I really felt for that person because although our incidents were not the same, I knew what they were going through.” The university says it was asked by police not to start its own investigation because doing it so might taint the criminal investigation. Rangel says there is no reason why both can’t happen at the same time because they are looking for different things. “The school then has a duty to protect the other students that are at their school that might be in danger because of these respondents that have committed these issues. So just saying, well, we can't do anything about it because the police is involved, seems like an easy out” But Rangel acknowledges says there is no specific guidance under Title IX on whether schools can start their own investigations while the police are doing theirs. Rangel says deference to police should be done on a case-by-case basis and in this case … “the only justification for them not investigating is that one fact alone that the police was involved.” The danger of waiting to start a Title IX investigation is that it gives the alleged attackers a chance to leave school and not face any real consequences. In Rosenquist's case … her attacker dropped out of school and returned to Dubai. In the football player’s case … all three are no longer students at SDSU. The maximum punishment under Title IX is expulsion. Once a student is no longer enrolled … it’s unclear what consequences the school could dole out. This is not the first time there has been a Title IX audit at S-D-S-U. In 2014, an audit found that SDSU faculty and staff were not sufficiently trained in responding to and reporting sexual assaults and harassment.  The report also faulted SDSU for requiring students to undergo yearly sexual assault and harassment prevention training. The report also recommended that the university establishes a confidential advocate for students who were sexually assaulted or harassed. The school has since mandated that all incoming students take a sexual violence prevention and awareness training course. Rosenquist said it was online and felt like a formality pushed on students. “I know a lot of my friends at the time were annoyed by it. Just like clicking through these multiple-answer questions, not paying much attention.” Since then the university has mandated the training for all students and staff and In 20-15 … San Diego State got  SDSU received a state grant to fund a full-time sexual assault victim advocate on campus. The university contracted with the Center for Community Solutions to provide the advocate. Maria Outcalt-Smith Center for Community Solutions “A sexual assault victim advocate is a support person for someone who's been a victim-survivor of sexual assault.” Maria Outcalt-Smith is the director of sexual assault services for Center for Community Solutions. SDSU contracts out to CCS for its sexual victim advocate but Outcalt-Smith says the advocate is completely independent from the university. “That is a good thing for the survivor then they are a neutral party.” Christy Heiskala is a sexual victim advocate who is not connected with SDSU. but is not connected with Center for Community Solutions “they are a confidential person that the survivor can talk to and know that everything's going to be held confidentially.” The advocate’s job is to provide survivors with resources, information on their rights and options for reporting and filing a complaint. Rosenquist says the school did refer her to an advocate … but she says there was a long waitlist. “It's not an expansive department, so there was really not much that they could do other than refer me to counseling, which I had already received.” Maria Outcalt-Smith is a director at the Center for Community Services. She says she isn’t wasn’t aware of any backlogs or waitlists. “We respond to survivors within usually 24 hours or the same day if they contact us unless it's on the weekends because, of course, we don't work the weekends, but we will do it first thing Monday morning.” CSU requires all campuses to have a sexual assault victim’s advocate … but there is a wide disparity between campuses. At Cal State San Marcos … for example … there is two advocates for a student body of 14-thousand. Likewise … Cal State Fullerton … with 17-THOUSAND students ... is in the process of getting a second full-time advocate. San Diego State … however … only has one full-time advocate for THIRTY-THOUSAND students. Christy Heiskala is a sexual assault victim advocate who is not connected with SDSU. She Heiskala says there is a shortage of qualified advocates. “It's a high turnover. I feel like the advocates don't have enough experience going into it, especially campus experience. They may have all the training they need, but they need more hands-on experience working with survivors from campus sexual assault.” For Rosenquist … she hopes the Title IX audit will make some much-needed changes to the office at San Diego State. “they really need to push for protecting their students and protecting their survivors that have gone through this rather than just kind of being passive in the process. I think it's important to take that initiative, take that next step.” She is speaking out about her assault in hopes that there will be changes that will protect women from being assaulted JENNA RANGEL  attorney “when you take no action and these students are allowed to leave school without any consequence, how does that deter people from doing it in the future?” AN/KPBS

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Earlier this month when the Biden Administration announced new immigration enforcement measures for Venezuelan nationals, officials said those already in the U-S would not be retroactively deported.

But several migrants told KPBS border reporter Gustavo Solis, that’s what happened to them.

Juan Carlos Torres turned himself in to border officials in El Paso on October 7 – five days before the Biden Administration announced new rules restricting Venezuelan nationals from entering the country. Torres was not supposed to be impacted by the new policy. In fact, administration officials told reporters, quote “This process in itself does not apply to individuals who are already in the United States.” But that’s exactly what happened to Torres. And he has the receipt to prove it – a baggage check receipt from border officials dated October 7. “No, no es justo. Lo que hicieron no es justo. Pero que se puede hacer?” Torres is now living in a Tijuana migrant shelter. He says he was kept in a holding facility with 300 other men for six days and then deported on October 13 – the day after the new policy was announced. “Estaban esperando, reuniendo ellos ya sabían de la ley para deportarlos.” He says it felt like border officials were just waiting for the law to change. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment. Gustavo Solis, KPBS News

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State lawmakers held a public hearing yesterday, focused on helping California teachers prepare to teach ethnic studies.

Last year, the legislature passed a law requiring students to take ethnic studies for high school graduation.

KPBS Education reporter M.G. Perez sat in on the hearing and has this update.

It was a meeting of the California assembly committee on higher education held on the campus of Cal State San Bernardino. But education experts from across the state testified…with ideas on how best to recruit and retain teachers who are people of color and experienced with working in diverse communities. Since 2018, Dr. Michael Dominguez has created curriculum for an ethnic studies teaching certificate at San Diego State. “ethnic studies is a unique and distinct field and a discipline that engages with questions and academic definitions of race, ethnicity, culture, identity and power” Whatever is decided…has to be in place by the 2025-26 school year as required by the new state law. MGP KPBS News

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Coming up.... We break down the dialysis proposition that keeps on showing up on your ballot. We’ll have that story and more, next, just after the break.

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We’ve been bringing you information on the state propositions you’ll see on your November ballot.

And today we’re looking at Prop 29.

It’s the kidney dialysis measure you've voted on for multiple elections in a row now.

The California Report’s Saul Gonzalez explains.

I want to introduce you to someone I know pretty well. Joanne: I'm Joanne Frost. Saul: And what's our relationship? Joanne: Saul's mother in law. (short chuckle) And Joanne, who’s 87,  is also one of the estimated 80,000 Californians who get dialysis because of damaged kidneys. That means three times a week she goes to a clinic and gets hooked up to a machine that cleans waste material from her blood...the machine doing the work of what healthy kidneys would do. Each dialysis session, which lasts between three to four hours, leaves Joanne feeling exhausted. joanne: Yeah, it does. It really it really tires you.I just I sleep all the rest of the day. I just. I'm really tired. Saul You feel like you've really been through it? JoanneI’ve been drained. Yeah. Yeah. But for people like Joanne, with serious kidney problems, not getting dialysis isn’t an option. Joanne If I can't be attached to that machine every three days, I'll die. That's it. Into this life and death treatment, comes Proposition 29 on the state’s November ballot. If passed, the measure would require the state’s 650 licensed dialysis clinics to have physicians or nurse practitioners on staff, along with dialysis technicians. David Miller: The heart and soul of this is we're going to add a clinician to the dialysis.We think it's incredibly important That’s David Miller, research director of SEIUUnited Healthcare Workers. It’s the labor union that’s behind Proposition 29. David Miller We think there's millions of bad incidents of quality of care in dialysis clinics, and we think adding a clinician or an M.D. to the clinic would help resolve some of the poor care. So we think it's very important in terms of improving patient quality. The dialysis industry has a very different take.  It argues the state’s dialysis clinics are already safe and well staffed...and the cost of adding more personnel would force the industry to make cuts and close clinics Prop. 29, the dialysis industry says, is about union clout not health care. Fairbanks The motives of the groups behind Prop 29 are ballot box extortion. That's Kathy Fairbanks, a spokesperson for the No on Prop. 29 campaign. Fairbanks argues the ballot measure is part of a long-term pressure campaign by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers to increase its membershipj.  Kathy It's not about patient care. It's not about improving patient care. It's about trying to unionize dialysis workers when they have so far said to the union, we're not interested. This is the union's way of putting pressure on the dialysis providers. Two past attempts to pass dialysis-industry reform propositions in California,  both backed by the union, failed at the ballot box, with dialysis companies spending big to defeat them. And the industry is once again opening its wallet to oppose Prop 29,raising more than 86 million dollars... so far. Prop. 29 proponents say what the industry is spending to defeat the measure shows that it has deep pockets and can add staff without closing clinics.. Dialysis is a three and half billion dollar business in California dominated by two companies...DaVita Incorporated and Fresenius Medical Care Again David Miller of SEIUUHW. David Miller: [00:03:54]  80 or 90% of this industry is for profit... And this would restrict the amount of money that they could return to their shareholders. You know, so I think we're having a big fight over where the dollar goes. We're trying to wrestle it back into patient care. we think that's at the crux of the fight. And what do dialysis patients think, like my mother-in-law? Joanne: [00:02:56] I just want my procedure done. I just want to make sure that they stay open so that I can. My kidneys can keep functioning That emphasis on survival.... is what’s important to tens of thousands of dialysis patients in the state, no matter what happens to Prop. 29. In Los Angeles, I’m Saul Gonzalez.

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And now we’ll turn to a race that those who live in the city of San Diego’s district 6 will vote on.

The district includes Kearny Mesa, Mira Mesa and University City.

San Diego City Council District 6 is the only race in the city this November with no incumbent on the ballot.

KPBS metro reporter Andrew Bowen has more on the race.

AB: For the past two years, District 6 has been represented by the last Republican in San Diego elected office. Now that he's termed out, two Democrats are running to replace him. KL: I have served as a member of the Mira Mesa Community Planning Group for over nine years now. AB: Kent Lee finished first in the D6 primary, winning 41% of the vote. He's spent the last 6 years running Pacific Arts Movement, the nonprofit that produces the San Diego Asian Film Festival. He says the experience as a manager will help him address the city's operational problems. KENT LEE SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL D6 CANDIDATE KL: You look at the fiscal challenges that we've faced, the staffing of vacancies that we currently hold, and I think these are critical components that explain why the city is failing to deliver on some of its most basic services that people think of every day. TH: I'm not aligned with a lot of the downtown outlets and a lot of the downtown special interests. AB: Tommy Hough, an activist and former radio host, finished second in the primary with 37% of the vote. He's skeptical of the city's efforts to zone for more housing, and says most new homes are too expensive for the middle class. TOMMY HOUGH SAN DIEGO CITY COUNCIL D6 CANDIDATE TH: We still aren't answering the basic question: 'How is this housing that we're building going to be somehow more accessible, more attainable and more affordable for our neighbors. AB: The housing and zoning debate is a critical one: The next council member in District 6 will vote on new community plans in University City and Mira Mesa. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.

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That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great day.