The College's Sexual Abuse and Sexual Harassment committee, created in 1987, is working to strengthen its relationship with students and to address a more varied list of concerns.
"The College had very few policies and very little coordination" in 1987, Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Director Mary Childers said. "Date rape was emerging and wasn't yet acknowledged nationally."
The committee has made recognizable strides since its implementation.
"In the past five years, the mission of the SASH Committee [has moved] from a focus on sexual abuse among undergraduates to a broad concern about sexual assault and sexual harassment occurring in our college community," the SASH Annual Report 1994-95 states.
Director of the Women's Resource Center Giavanna Munafo, who co-chairs the committee with German Professor Ulrike Rainer, said she feels strongly about strengthening the relationship between the committee and students.
"I want it to be a place that they can go to that's not the dean's office, that's not a part of the judicial system, but where they can voice their concerns," Munafo said.
"Students concerned with actively challenging the College's approach to sexual abuse and harassment can use SASH as a resource," she said.
This way they can know that "they don't need to reinvent the wheel," Munafo said.
"The committee needs to address how adequately policies of sexual abuse and sexual harassment are getting to students," Munafo said.
The committee is committed to assessing the College's current policies and, according to Munafo, is in the position to say, "Wait a minute. this isn't working right."
"Some describe us as a watchdog organization," she said.
Munafo said the committee is currently dedicated to four other primary areas of interest.
The first is an examination of the ways in which the graduate and professional schools are providing information to students about what the policies are regarding sexual abuse and harassment.
Meredith Atkins, a second year student at the Medical School, is the committee's Medical School representative.
"It is important to have formal channels set up so that people can get help if they need it," she said.
A second issue arose because of stalking incidents in recent years, according to Munafo.
"Students are asking, 'Do we have a stalking policy?' We need to think carefully about whether we need one," she said. "We are thoroughly researching this."
"The Committee is gathering information about stalking policies from other campuses and is looking at state law and liability issues," Munafo said.
The SASH committee is currently in a stage where research is a predominant obligation, Munafo said.
A third issue which SASH is committed to researching involves how abuse and harassment concerns involve faculty.
"We're studying how the College's faculty are educated and trained with regard to sexual harassment," Munafo said. "Again, we're going to look at other campuses train their faculty."
Dee Mook, committee member and professor of physics and astronomy, said, "I am primarily concerned with making the faculty aware of the issues involved."
"My role is to study how we can better inform the faculty about SASH," he explained.
A study of faculty-related issues is not an easy target, though, as it raises some difficult questions, according to Munafo.
"How can we engage the faculty in conversations without mandating training," she proposed.
While this is being looked at, the College's service personnel has been successfully approached by the Committee, comprising the fourth issue.
Service workers took part in a three day intensive training program last summer, according to Childers. The program included facilitated discussions and proposed hypothetical situations.
The workers left the program "less afraid that we're going to get fired for the wrong thing," she said.
SASH has opened a blitz mail account and will receive questions and suggestions this way, according to Munafo.
