After soliciting student recommendations, the 1994-95 Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Committee submitted its annual report to Provost Lee Bollinger in late November. The report calls for reforms in the College's handling of and educating about issues of sexual abuse.
Main concerns of the committee's report include updating Sexual Harassment and Rape Education Network materials, expanding the Faculty Sexual Abuse Advisors network, and reviving campus self-defense courses, according to the report.
The SASH committee reviews College policies in areas involving sexual assault and sexual harassment, recommends changes in policies in those areas, and encourages educational activities concerning sexual assault and harassment at Dartmouth, according to the report.
Committee co-Chairs German Professor Ulrike Rainer and Director of the Women's Resource Center Giavanna Munafo compiled the report.
Munafo wrote in an electronic-mail message that "the agenda for the committee is set in part by the previous year's recommendations and in part by campus developments."
One such case was Emily Stephens '97's public allegations of sexual abuse last Spring term which sparked campus-wide debate. In one of its appendices, the report includes five pieces about Stephen's allegations.
One of the committee's concerns was making sure the evaluation process for cases of sexual abuse and harassment was fair to both parties involved, Munafo wrote.
"We're trying to make sure that both complaining and accused students are treated fairly and have access to as much information as will be useful to them," she wrote.
Munafo wrote that victim's rights were another motivation for the committee's recommendations.
The report also contains correspondence between six students and Dean of the College Lee Pelton regarding recommendations on sexual abuse policy.
The students recommended an increase in education regarding sexual abuse issues, distribution of information to both parties involved in an abuse case, and support mechanisms which will allow all victims to speak out, according to the report.
The students discussed the need for clarification of mediation and adjudication as two options available, for improved advertisement of SASH, and for the College to provide legal counsel.
Pelton said the committee responded to every recommendation.
"Progress has been made on each and every one of them. I hope sometime in the winter or spring term to review progress made," he said.
One of the steps taken which addresses the students' concerns is the formation of a new committee to look at mediation at the College, Pelton said.
"I plan Winter term to form a committee some of whose members come from SASH to review the relationship between mediation and adjudication," Pelton said.
In his October 4 response to the students' recommendations, Pelton said, "in some respects, the current relationship between mediation and students' disciplinary system is straightforward. However, recent events have suggested that other aspects of this relationship are complex and require further clarification."
Stephens was one of the students who made recommendations to Pelton.
In a telephone interview from her home in Texas, Stephens said she was pressured by the College to select mediation.
"Mediation is a concern among a lot of students. There are no guidelines or procedures. Students need to know what it is and how it should be used," Stephens said.
Stephens said she was disappointed by the slow pace of the formation of the committee that will examine mediation.
She said she also believes SASH needs to be revitalized.
"Many don't even know it exists," she said. "The more people know, the more chance there will be for decreasing the amount of sexual harassment."
"I appreciate the College taking the recommendations seriously and trying to improve," she added.
A copy of the report is available at the Baker Library Reserve Desk, Munafo wrote.
