In a statement released Friday, Cal Poly President Jeffrey Armstrong admits the university should have handled the situation differently when freshman Kristin Smart went missing 27 years ago.
He says Kristin's story has had a lasting impact on the university community, and current students we spoke to say it has shaped their college experience, too.
"Coming here and always thinking about that, and knowing about it but then still never having closure on it," said fourth-year student Elijah Galster.
"I really resonate with Kristin Smart and her case. Especially the trial, considering I am from Salinas, Monterey County," second-year student Eve Stewart told KSBY. "I was living in very close quarters with Chris Lambert and the Smarts and the Flores as the trial took place."
Stewart says she followed along closely with the months-long trial in Salinas where Paul Flores was ultimately convicted and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for Kristin's murder.
Thursday night, she and her classmates also organized a vigil in Kristin's honor to mark the 27th anniversary of her disappearance. But moving forward, Stewart says she'd like more accountability from the university.
"Obviously, the university had a big impact on this case in the beginning and how it ultimately ended up unfolding," she added.
In President Armstrong's statement, he apologized for what the Smart family has had to endure the past 27 years, adding that while the university will never be able to control what an individual with bad intent decides to do, they are constantly working to help ensure things like that don't happen again at Cal Poly.
He says the university places the utmost priority on the safety of its campus community members.
"There is the SLO Safe Ride, where you can call a bus or a van that will pick you up and drive you anywhere," Galster explained.
Cal Poly says following Kristin's disappearance, the "Safer" program was created to provide student resources pertaining to sexual misconduct, domestic violence and stalking. But Stewart says she would like to see her school make a better impact in honoring Kristin's legacy.
"I think there should be an annual celebration of her life and her memory, whether it is on her birthday in February or on the anniversary of her death in May, or both really," Steward said. "There needs to be something they are doing annually that people can expect."
University officials say to date, there are no memorials on campus honoring Kristin Smart, but they say they are eager to construct one and that they have been in communication with the Smart family about its plans.
KSBY reached out to the Smart family's spokesperson for comment on the university's latest statements but did not hear back.
Full statement from President Armstrong:
"First, it must be said that I can’t imagine the pain and hurt Kristin’s family has felt and still feels.
We are very sorry for what the Smart family has endured. What they have been through is unimaginably heartbreaking, and I feel for them in ways I can’t express with words. While it is a different administration now than was in place in 1996, we recognize that things should had been done differently — and I personally wish that they had.
On behalf of Cal Poly leadership, I can say that as people who live in this community with families and human emotions ourselves, Kristin’s story is something that is always with us and weighs heavy on our hearts. Her story continues to be a part of the Cal Poly story, and we are determined to do all we can to help ensure the safety of all our students now and in the future.
While we will never be able to control what an individual with bad intent decides to do, we are constantly working to help ensure things like this don't happen again at Cal Poly. Cal Poly places the utmost priority on the safety of its campus community members. The university has robust programming aimed at providing public safety services to all of our students, employees and visitors.
We abide by the Kristin Smart Campus Security Act and the Clery Act — maintaining agreements to report relevant cases to local law enforcement and providing annual crime report statistics for public information.
The POST-certified Cal Poly Police Department is charged with maintaining the safety of our campus and providing education outreach around crime prevention.
We have robust Title IX programming through the Civil Rights and Compliance Office (CRCO), working under mandates of federal law and CSU executive order. This includes investigative programming as well as education and preventative outreach.
After Kristin Smart’s disappearance, we created the Safer program to provide advocacy; confidential resources; and training, workshops and proactive outreach on the topics of sexual misconduct, domestic violence, and stalking.
Departments across campus work closely to examine potential public safety issues in the physical campus, such as lighting and access, to address and prioritize issues as they arise.
And as with all aspects of our campus community, we examine all of these programs and procedures on an ongoing basis, with an eye toward continual improvement."
—Jeffrey D. Armstrong
President, Cal Poly
