Campus Alert Archive
Rhodes

A Rhodes Safety Alert Names Known Student Suspects After an SAE House Report

TNsexual assaulttimely warningmedium confidence
Under Investigation

Rhodes students received a Campus Safety Alert saying that a female student reported she was sexually assaulted on February 15 and that the student suspects were known to her. The warning and the Memphis Police search of the SAE fraternity house helped trigger a student protest against sexual violence one week later.

Alerts
1
Response
—
Killed
0
Injured
0
Institution
Rhodes College
Private Liberal Arts · TN
Campus Safety Alert
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstruction64 chars
a female student reported she was sexually assaulted February 15

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The recovered wording is a media quote from the Campus Safety Alert, so the case does not claim primary-source verbatim confirmation.
Action News 5 also quoted the alert as saying that the student suspects were known to the reporting student.
The alert reached a small residential liberal arts campus where student organizations quickly converted the warning into protest and survivor-support organizing.
Context

Background

On February 21, 2019, Action News 5 reported that Rhodes students had received a Campus Safety Alert the previous Friday saying a female student reported being sexually assaulted on February 15 and that the student suspects were known to her. The same report said Memphis Police searched the SAE fraternity house, where the reported rape occurred. A Rhodes student contributor later described a February 22 silent protest in the breezeway of Paul Barret, Jr. Library, held exactly one week after the reported assault and attended by the college president. Rhodes' published policies state that the college does not tolerate sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, or stalking, but the student account shows how the warning was received amid broader frustration about urgency, sanctions, and campus culture.
Analysis

Key Findings

The alert wording is only recoverable through local media quoting the Campus Safety Alert, so it is explicitly not marked as primary-source verbatim.
The reported suspects were students known to the reporting student, a detail that shaped the student response and the demand for institutional action.
The case captures a small LAC warning becoming a campus-wide organizing event within one week.
Outcome
Memphis Police searched the SAE fraternity house, Rhodes leadership issued a public anti-sexual-assault statement, and student groups organized a silent protest outside the library.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    Rhodes College students demand answers following sexual assault reports (Action News 5)
    actionnews5.com
  2. Student Paper
    A Not-So-Silent Protest (Her Campus Rhodes)
    hercampus.com
  3. Official
    Student Expectations and Behavioral Policies (Rhodes College Catalog)
    catalog.rhodes.edu
Tags
sexual-assaulttimely-warningfraternity-housestudent-protesttennesseeprivate-liberal-artssmall-campusUnder Investigation
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion