This story is developing and may be updated with additional information.

The student and staff directories of William Jewell College have been published to the public-facing internet and are searchable on Google and other search engines. The information in these directories—which includes students’ full names, Jewell email addresses, and ID file photographs—has been available since at least Thursday, Oct. 2 and may have been available earlier, according to a source familiar with the matter, granted anonymity by The Hilltop Monitor. As of the time of publication, both directories are still online and publicly available.

According to Jewell’s data classification and handling standards, directory information, such as names and email addresses, are considered level 4 data and can be legally revealed to the public. Photographs are considered level 4 data if they are posted in an official College publication. It is unclear whether the College intended “publication” to mean College-issued news and media (such as press releases) or anything public-facing produced by the College.

Physical descriptions of students, which are easily obtainable from photographs, are considered level 3 data, meaning they are for internal use only and ought not to be published. Employee ID numbers of Jewell employees, also easily obtainable from the staff database, are likewise listed as for internal use only.

William Jewell College is also required to comply with federal law, including the Family Educational Rights and Policy Act (FERPA). Under FERPA, “directory information” (such as name, email, major, etc.) can be legally published. Any student who has requested confidentiality under FERPA (also known as setting a FERPA flag) cannot have their information published as part of the directory. The Hilltop Monitor does not know of any students who have set such a flag (which is by design, as their information would be private). 

Whether the College intended to release this information or not, publishing the directory to the internet is quite concerning. Publicly posting students’ identification photos, college emails, ID numbers, and full names may enable stalkers or others who wish students ill to track and harass them. It is the opinion of the author that the College should either redact public-facing information to not include student photographs, or take the directory off the public-facing internet.

The Hilltop Monitor asked College administrators whether the release was intentional, for how long directory information has been available, and how the College intended to protect student and staff privacy. College administrators did not respond to a Hilltop Monitor request for comment.

If you are a student who has set a FERPA confidentiality flag, please check if your info is available via search engines and, if you are comfortable doing so, please inform the Hilltop Monitor (via the Story Suggestions page) or Student Senate of any concerns.  

At about 6:45 on Thursday, October 2nd, I walked into the bathroom on the top floor of Jones Hall and noticed something on the wall. Someone had used period blood, as far as other witnesses and I could tell, to write the f-slur in large capital letters on the wall. I notified the Jones group chat, as well as sending a picture of the vandalism to my RA, and the slur was cleaned off the wall later that same night. The next day, I met with Student Life to let them know about the situation; Ryan West assured me that she had been made aware and Student Life was looking into it. I have received no further updates.

I conducted an interview with Sunny and Cal, a gay couple living on the wing of Jones in which this incident happened. When asked how this incident made them feel, they replied, “Honestly, it just sucks. It’s exhausting… homophobia isn’t new to us – [we] have already dealt with instances on campus before, but this feels different. This isn’t just a queer event getting cancelled, it’s someone going out of their way to do something meant to disgust or intimidate us. It takes a kind of effort and intent that [we] still can’t fully rationalize or wrap our heads around.” While Sunny and Cal reported not feeling afraid for their physical safety as a result of this incident, they “do feel uneasy and…unwelcome. It’s a reminder that there are people here who genuinely don’t see queer students as deserving of respect or belonging.”

Sunny and Cal also reported having spoken to Ryan West and the campus counselor, and they say this isn’t the first time they’ve done so. “Queer people have been targeted here before,” Sunny and Cal state. “[We] moved dorm buildings because we’ve been harassed, and of course there was the drag event being cancelled because of someone that isn’t even a student here… queer spaces and organizations have been shrinking on campus lately, and at the same time, incidents like this seem to be happening more often. It’s hard not to notice that correlation.”

The drag incident Sunny and Cal are referring to happened during the spring semester of 2023 – the Gender Inclusivity and Femininity Team (GIFT) planned a drag queen event which was cancelled by college administrators due to alumni outrage.

“We’re not looking for punishment or anything crazy,” Sunny and Cal state. “[W]e just want to feel like we’re being heard and that our safety and dignity matter as much as anyone else’s. We want to know that there are systems in place to protect queer students from targeted harassment.”

When asked if there was anything else they would like people to know, Sunny and Cal said, “Even if you don’t understand us or agree with us, basic respect isn’t a high bar. Writing targeted slurs in blood doesn’t just affect the people they’re targeted towards. They make the whole environment feel uglier and less safe for everyone. It takes way more effort and energy to do something like that … [than] to just be kind to your neighbors.”

“And to whoever wrote the slur,” they continued, “we’re here if you need to talk. Come grab a Capri Sun and watch a movie with us or something. Hang out with queer people and talk to us before you decide on hate. We promise we’re not that scary.”

Read the full interview here.

The press release noted that Van Horn’s vision for Jewell’s future emphasized “personalized education rooted in the liberal arts and humanities, aimed at preparing students for successful careers and civic engagement in a constantly changing world.” His experience includes tenures as the president of Brevard College in North Carolina and Young Harris College in Georgia, both of which had or continue to have affiliations with the Methodist church.

It is not surprising that the Trustees have chosen Van Horn as interim president given the new direction of the College under the Reimagine Jewell initiative. Bill Gautreaux, chair of the Board of Trustees, noted that Van Horn’s “[unique] data driven results-oriented focus” would help the College “build on Jewell’s long history of academic excellence and student success.” It is unclear what emphasizing a “results-oriented focus” means at this time for programs and faculty, given cuts to both last year.

A New Direction

In an interview with Higher Education Digest, Van Horn outlined a myriad of policy outcomes for smaller private colleges that he believed would help them flourish. Two of his policy proposals are particularly relevant in viewing the way Van Horn will lead the College.

First, Van Horn emphasized that “[i]nstitutions must continue to identify low-producing majors and eliminate them from their offerings.” As Jewell thins its program offerings (having eliminated majors in International Relations, Mathematics, Oxbridge, Philosophy, Spanish, and Theatre this past year, among others), Jewell administration appears to have already emphasized identifying and removing “lower-producing majors” in an effort to reduce program spending.

Second, Van Horn emphasized that colleges, especially small private colleges, must “refocus the Boards, alumni, faculty, and staff on the mission of the institutions… focus on the type of student that [they] historically served and determine if this was still the mission for the institutions.” This includes, where necessary, “reducing the number of hours in the core curriculum” and changing the institution’s focus from core curriculum to double majors or certificates that enable student success, particularly in the workforce. As Jewell becomes more diverse and moves away from its Baptist roots, College administrators must decide whether to double down on Jewell’s historical mission or upend it.

No matter one’s feelings about Critical Thought and Inquiry (CTI) classes, it is clear that the Reimagine Jewell initiative, under the leadership of Van Horn, represents a significant shift for William Jewell College and its administration. Will Van Horn lead a shift out of exigency and toward a flourishing Jewell? Or will the College lose sight of the liberal arts emphasis that has caused its success for so long?

As usual, only time will tell.
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