For the last several years, the University Senate Campus Affairs Committee has held an annual forum to address a specific university safety concern. The issues – ranging, in recent years, from the prevalence of sexual assault to the feasibility of a campuswide helmet policy – always seem to be hot-button topics that usually draw a large number of attendees.

This year’s forum, held Thursday night, centered around sexual abuse and harassment – a significant issue after the sex abuse scandal last year at Penn State that rocked the Nittany Lions and this country to their cores. Officials were quick to note that such instances have not occurred at this university and they chose the topic because sexual assault policies are a large topic of discussion on campuses across the country this year following the scandal.

But for several audience attendees, Penn State wasn’t a good enough topic. They used the question-and-answer segment to ask the panelists about similar issues actually occurring on this campus: The alleged workplace abuse and sexual harassment of staff members in several departments across the board.

One attendee asked why the university hadn’t paid closer attention to the university’s Human Resources Working Group’s recommendations released in September, crafted in response to dozens of allegations of sexual harassment and racism by superiors. Although the report outlined several recommendations for bettering workplace abuse and administrators say they are in the process of being implemented, several community members have said change isn’t coming soon enough.

This editorial board agrees and is left scratching its head, wondering why the University Senate has remained largely silent on this issue. Indeed, the university’s most powerful legislative body missed an important chance to address the issue and pressure administrators to act quicker.

When audience members brought up the alleged workplace abuse, the panelists – University Police Chief David Mitchell, Campus Compliance Officer Roger Candelaria, Director of Student Conduct Andrea Goodwin, Sexual Assault Response and Prevention Program Coordinator Allison Bennett and campus counselor Sarah Mebane – simply said they weren’t qualified to address the issue, but would include in the committee’s annual report to the senate that some felt the issues weren’t being adequately addressed.

The senate should be doing a lot more than just including a line in a report – especially since administrators have already addressed this year’s topic. Shortly after the Penn State scandal, Loh drafted a six-page policy outlining the legal obligation to report instances of child abuse. In only a month, seven reports were made to University Police. Although none of the alleged abuse took place on the campus, Loh’s concrete stance on the issue obviously made an impact with the community.

So this editorial board is curious – what exactly could the campus affairs committee recommend in its report that hasn’t already been done? Sexual abuse is a very real issue, but panelists were quick to point out that they don’t believe instances that happened at Penn State are happening here and Loh has already addressed it. The committee seems a bit late to the conversation; meanwhile, staff members are reportedly still being abused.

It seems the university higher-ups are once again skirting the issue. Last week’s forum would have been the perfect opportunity for the senate to lead a real discussion on actual safety issues on this campus and propose solid recommendations on how to eradicate the problem. It’s time for the senate to address this issue once and for all. Any other fruitless forums will just continue to be a waste of time.