Sexual Assault on Campus: What’s the Policy at YOUR Alma Mater?

Parents Forum
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<p>Mini recently started this</a> thread on Yale’s recent response to a female undergraduate student’s report of having been raped by a male student. Many of those who responded were appalled at the failure (by all involved) to contact local law enforcement.</p>

<p>Fast forward to yesterday, when I mentioned to a friend that her daughter would probably do well not to include Yale on her college list. The friend responded by researching the sexual assault policy at my own alma mater, and what she found was disturbing.</p>

<p>Not only does the college's official “response to sexual assault” not encourage victims to report the assault to the police, nowhere (in several pages of information) is the contact info for local law enforcement even provided.</p>

<p>Clearly, the problem isn’t confined to those schools, like Yale or Amherst, where apparent attempts to “cover up” assaults have recently come to light. And it’s also not limited to colleges that were formerly men’s colleges. (And, no, I wasn’t so naive as to think the problem wasn’t more widespread. I just really didn't want to know that my own college was one of the culprits.)</p>

<p>So, now I am trying to figure out how to respond. What would you do? And have you looked at your own alma mater’s policies on sexual assault?</p>

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<p>I just checked mine. There is a link to options students have. The first listed is to contact campus police which will then notify city police. Regarding counseling, there is this statement:

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<p>That’s a tough one. First, I would tell your friend to disregard your advice.</p>

<p>The statistics on college sexual assault are staggering. It’s been suggested that 1 in 4 women will be victims of college sexual assault, with the majority of the assaults occurring between acquaintances and in the presence of alcohol/drugs. It’s not a Yale issue. It’s a widespread issue and it likely affects almost every campus. Recent complaints have also been filed against Amherst, Occidental, USC, UC Berkeley, North Carolina, etc., etc. It’s a systemic issue. We need real behavioral change; a true cultural shift in the way men perceive and treat women.</p>

<p>So where do you want to send your daughter? To a school like Yale that is grappling with the problem, reforming, encouraging victims to come forward, providing counseling and safety services, and making real headway against rape. Or to a school that doesn’t care about the issue; that’s sweeping it under the rug; that is discouraging victims from coming forward.</p>

<p>Mini is a gadfly trying to spin an argument against Yale so the activists can pressure Yale to do more. My counter to that is if it were my son, I would stay far away from Occidental, Vassar, Swarthmore, and Amherst, and several other LACs where the activists are strong. You’re taking an unnecessary risk with your college and career.</p>

<p>And btw, I find these activists-spun threads to be truly offensive. People come here looking for real advice. I wish people would stop trying to use the site to spin their agenda. It’s shallow, poorly structured polemic and its hurtful. My sympathies for your friend.</p>

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<p>I remember watching one of the morning shows where there was discussion about sexual assaults on campus, with the %incidence for various schools was given. The host was saying that it would be better to send a daughter to a school was zero or very low incidence, but the researchers said that just the opposite was true–sexual assaults happen on every campus, and very low incidence rates mean that the school is covering-up things and not encouraging victims to report crimes–so parents should not be afraid to send their children to schools that have higher rates of reported assaults.</p>

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<p>

[quote]
nowhere (in several pages of information) is the contact info for local law enforcement even provided.

[quote]
</p>

<p>is this not the first number people learn in their lives?</p>

<p>if you want the non emergency number, is it really harder to find the local non-emergency police number than the school’s sexual assault policy and read through all the pages?</p>

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<p>“Mini is a gadfly trying to spin an argument against Yale so the activists can pressure Yale to do more.”</p>

<p>Gosh, why do you think I’d spin an argument against Yale? I certainly do NOT believe they are any worse than any of the other Ivy League institutions, and certainly not worse than my alma mater at least used to be. (There’s pretty good data now on the NESCAC schools, but you’ll never see it presented in a table.) </p>

<p>And, yes, I do think that the very first thing that someone should do when raped in one of these sexual assault ghettos is call the outside police. The real police, not the ersatz variety. I would never ever trust campus police to contact the real ones.</p>

<p>Here’s what my alma mater currently says:</p>

<p><a href=“http://dean.williams.edu/?page_id=2067[/url]”>http://dean.williams.edu/?page_id=2067&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>"Statement of the Rights of Students Who Have Experienced a Sexual Assault</p>

<p>*The right to be treated with respect by College officials</p>

<p>*The right not to be discouraged from reporting by College officials</p>

<p>*The right to be informed of the outcome and sanction of any disciplinary process involving sexual assault</p>

<p>*The right to be informed of their options to notify proper law enforcement authorities, including on-campus and local police, and the option to be assisted by campus authorities in notifying such authorities, if the student so chooses</p>

<p>*The right to be notified of available counseling, mental health or student services for survivors of sexual assault both on campus and in the community</p>

<p>*The right to notification of and options for, and available assistance in changing academic and living situations after an alleged sexual assault incident, if so requested and if such changes are reasonably available</p>

<p>*The right not to have irrelevant prior sexual history admitted in a campus hearing</p>

<p>*The right to have the charges treated properly through the disciplinary process, including the right to appeal.</p>

<p>*The right to a campus restraining order against another student who has engaged in or threatens to engage in stalking, threatening, harassing or other improper behavior that presents a danger to the welfare of the complaining student</p>

<p>*The right to have complaints of sexual misconduct responded to quickly and with sensitivity</p>

<p>*The right to have sexual assault reports investigated and appropriately resolved/addressed by the College.</p>

<p>Statement of the Accused’s Rights</p>

<p>*The right to timely notices of charges, including the nature of the charge and possible sanctions</p>

<p>*The right to have the charges treated properly through the disciplinary process, including the right to appeal</p>

<p>*The right to access campus resources for medical, counseling, and advisory services."</p>

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<p>Thank you, katara. I wrote several replies to the original post and ditched all of them because they were impolite.</p>

<p>My alma mater’s policy says 1) get to a safe place, 2)report it to one of several entities–you choice–the campus police, the town police, a dean. And gives the phone numbers. And goes on to advise people not to bathe, brush teeth, or change clothes (but if you do, put the clothes in a bag to preserve evidence), and so forth. There are also statements of policy regarding the honor court, rights of the accuser and accused, etc. This is a women’s college.</p>

<p>This is what Williams (mini’s alma mater) says (almost exactly what Wellesley says):</p>

<p>Every rape survivor reacts differently to rape, both immediately after the rape and in the long term. You may feel anger, disbelief, anxiety, fear, and countless other emotions. Should you be raped, here are some guidelines:</p>

<p>Get to a safe place. Go to a friend’s room or any other place where people can give you emotional support.</p>

<p>Get medical attention. See a health care professional immediately for treatment of any injuries and for other tests. Do not bathe, shower, urinate, defecate, ******, brush your teeth or change your clothes before you go. The Health Center can be reached at 597-2206.</p>

<p>Report the rape. Reporting sexual assault can be an empowering act for a survivor and can be an important factor in preventing additional assaults. You can call the Deans’ Office (597-4171) or Security (597-4444), and they will help you decide what to do next. You can also contact the Williamstown Police Department at 458-5733.</p>

<p>This is a link to Yale’s page:</p>

<p>[Sexual</a> Misconduct Response at Yale | Sexual Misconduct Response at Yale](<a href=“Welcome | Title IX at Yale”>http://smr.yale.edu/)</p>

<p>Please note that the page actually gives the phone numbers for the local police as well as the Yale police and other resources. </p>

<p>I think the OP should do more research before offering college recommendations.</p>

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<p>I find that Yale web page a bit chilling. Yes the phone numbers are there but the emphasis seems to be on confidentiality more than anything else. The word “rape” is not there. Compare it to this page from WVU:</p>

<p>[What</a> To Do If You Have Been Sexually Assaulted | wellwvu | West Virginia University](<a href=“http://well.wvu.edu/sexual_assault/what_to_do_if_you_have_been_sexually_assaulted]What”>http://well.wvu.edu/sexual_assault/what_to_do_if_you_have_been_sexually_assaulted)</p>

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<p>This is from the top of the web page from my daughters school.</p>

<p>Remember that it was not your fault. Whatever happened, you did nothing to deserve it. Sexual assault can happen to anyone and it is never the victim’s fault.</p>

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<p>When these threads pick up steam, I wonder just who is inflaming whom. I suggest folks read Title IX and- sorry- but it seems many prefer to tap into the common media. There are federal guidelines, including:</p>

<p>"Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX),…prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities operated by recipients of Federal financial assistance. Sexual harassment of students, which includes acts of sexual violence, is a form of sex discrimination prohibited by Title IX…specific Title IX requirements applicable to sexual violence.2 Sexual violence, as that term is used in this letter, refers to physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person’s will or where a person is incapable of giving consent due to the victim’s use of drugs or alcohol. An individual also may be unable to give consent due to an intellectual or other disability. A number of different acts fall into the category of sexual violence, including rape, "</p>

<p>If someone has a problem with the way they think a college handles sexual assault, which includes rape, be sure to dig deep enough. From here, you can follow links.
[Dear</a> Colleague Letter from Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Russlynn Ali.-- Pg 1](<a href=“http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201104.html]Dear”>Dear Colleague Letter from Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Russlynn Ali.-- Pg 1)</p>

<p>So, is it perfect on campuses? No. Should we make noise? Yes. And teach and guide your children well- sons and daughters. I am not sure if you want a blanket statement to [tell sons to] “stay far away from [colleges] where the activists are strong” when the first option is TEACH our kids what is appropriate. ?</p>

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<p>So, according to Title IX, all sex when someone is drunk is sexual assault? I’ll be sure to tell my son that. If both are drunk, have they assaulted each other?</p>

<p>Sexual violence, as that term is used in this letter, refers to physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person’s will or where a person is incapable of giving consent due to the victim’s use of drugs or alcohol.</p>

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<p>That’s not just Title IX. That’s the LAW in most states. If you don’t like it, talk to your legislators.</p>

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<p>Actually, it is just as it is worded:</p>

<p>“perpetrated against a person’s will
or
where a person is incapable of giving consent due to the victim’s use of drugs or alcohol.”</p>

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<p>I’m not even sure why we get into these discussions about TitleIX. What would I do? I’d tell my kids to call the police before they do anything else. Assault is a criminal issue first and then it becomes an administrative issue concerning those involved. Administrative action should always be second to the criminal issue in my opinion. I’d never tell my kids to “call the dean”…really? If you had a kiddo that was assaulted you’d tell them to “call the dean?” - I don’t understand that response on any level.</p>

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<p>Sometimes, I wonder what people really think of all this- really that you’ll just tell your son that drunk = assault? Why not be motivated to have a different sort of convo-- about what consent is, what hampers it, when to stop and etc? </p>

<p>I am not an “activist.” But I don’t get why people are defensive instead of educating themselves and their kids. You don’t have unwanted sex if you…don’t have sex without clear consent. No, you don’t need to put it in writing. Yes, I can sit here and imagine some dire circumstances where there is a false accusation. But the point is to protect. Not to ignore.</p>

<p>Mom, Title IX makes the colleges take parallel action. Or, if the complainant chooses not to report to police, to continue a college investigation. Of the 5 colleges named above (Yale, Vassar, Oxy, Swat and Amherst,) each has wording encouraging complainants to call law enforcement (I lost the paste, but the words are there.)</p>

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<p>In theory perhaps, but many posts through the past year have intimated that it’s a course of action INSTEAD of the legal system. That I cannot agree with. It’s criminal. Its covered already by law. We do not need a parallel administrative policy. </p>

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<p>And that is why we have a judicial system in this country.</p>

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<p>Oh you can be sure that I have had many conversations with both my son and my daughter about what consent is and isn’t. I just didn’t realize that consent does not legally count if under the influence. I just want to make certain that my son knows this.</p>

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<p>greenwitch, I assume that they do not use the word “rape” because they want to use broader terms that include people who may not consider themselves to have been “raped.” I see nothing nefarious in that. </p>

<p>Calling a specific dean is an option only. These policies cover MANY circumstances. The point is to give many options so that the victim feels able to make the complaint. And SAFE making the complaint, hence confidentiality. I would venture to guess that the college envisions a student doing this when they have been sexually harassed or even assaulted in the sense of unwanted touching by another student and don’t feel comfortable calling the police. If you were a Wellesley woman, for example, and another student was sexually harassing you, would you call the police, either campus or town? I don’t think so. Calling a dean–and feeling sure that your business would not appear in a police report or be spread around campus–would probably feel much better.</p>

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<p>^^I get that Consolation but what does the accuser want the administrative body to “do?” The law covers restraining orders, covers stalking, covers sexual abuse, and all kinds of potential situations… Having a college adjudicate such matters seems fraught with the potential for tromping on someone’s legal rights either for the accuser who doesn’t get what they “want” or what they could potentially deserve (e.g. a restraining order) or the accused who may suffer some sort of punitive damage which in itself could have legal implications. Seems to me all this stuff is already covered by law and the protections of the law are there for everybody, accused and accuser. I see nothing wrong with taking the protection offered under the law and if there is a need for administrative support for counseling, etc. to take that avenue IN ADDITION to the protection afforded under the law. But it seems to me that to rely upon administrative protection is fraught with problems for accused and accusers and for college administrators who are put in a position of basically adjudicating criminal matters.</p>

<p>How on earth does an college administrative body address a complainant who is effectively positing criminal behavior on the part of someone else. Both the accuser and the accused are robbed of due process of law.</p>

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<p>Like your post, Cons.
The college is meant to protect access to education, which includes a range of actions. If a student DOES NOT go to law enforcement, that shouldn’t stop the college from taking action- think about it. And, since a campus is a community, they need to respond, just as for other matters. Anyway, all pretty clear via T9. The police can ask the college to wait for their findings. The college cannot sit back and do nothing. </p>

<p>True, the college is not a court. But it has rights to action and a govt mandate to action. You don’t like it. But that is how it is. The campus can also review a kid for other policy abuses or infractions.</p>