The Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Committee recommended in its annual report, released last month, that the College continue its investigation into stalking and work to increase the awareness of the issue on campus.
SASH, established during the 1987-88 academic year, educates Dartmouth students and faculty in an effort to prevent sexual assault and sexual harassment.
SASH created a Subcommittee on Stalking during the fall of 1995 in light of increased awareness of the issue, according to Women's Resource Center Director Giavanna Munafo, one of SASH's co-chairs.
Although the stalking subcommittee was formed in part as a response to anecdotal evidence that there was stalking on campus, the results of a survey taken by the group last spring did not wholly confirm this anecdotal evidence, the report states.
The survey had asked people to provide their own definition of stalking, along with examples of stalking on campus and suggestions of techniques to help deal with the problem.
In response to the failure of the surveys to confirm the evidence of stalking, the report states, "We were not convinced that our surveys truly reflected the reality of stalking on campus. Perhaps a series of campus-wide focus groups might elicit additional data on this issue."
SASH member Mark Vogel, the operations supervisor in Instructional Services, said the definition of stalking, "as has been the case with sexual harassment in general, will broaden as more people who have been harassed in this manner break the silence."
Munafo also said people should pay more attention to stalking scenarios that involve BlitzMail.
"It is the same as any other harassing -- when someone doesn't wish to be in contact with a person who persists," she said. "Stalking has a threatening, violent edge, where a person is evading your space, ignoring your expressed wishes."
SASH suggested investigating how other colleges and universities have responded to stalking.
"Before we do any serious research here on campus we have to see what is being done elsewhere," Munafo said. "If campuses we consider our peers are having problems, it is safe to assume that we might have a similar problem."
The committee also recommended compiling educational brochures, developing workshop series and inviting guest speakers to educate students about stalking.
The SASH report encouraged the graduate and professional schools to evaluate their own sexual harassment and sexual assault programs.
Meredith Atkins, a student at the Dartmouth Medical School and member of SASH's graduate and professional subcommittee said, "The graduate and professional school communities are no different than the undergraduate community."
"It is important to evaluate how these issues are dealt with in terms of education, current policies and support networks," Atkins said.
SASH also reinforced its commitment to its own visibility.
"From my perspective, SASH visibility is the most important SASH initiative," Vogel said. "All the other recommendations remain merely recommendations unless SASH maintains current and increases future visibility."
The report recommended that the Sexual Harassment and Rape Education Network expand its educational responsibility as well.
The report also suggested the Office of the Dean of the Faculty make available the protocol for filing student complaints against faculty.
SASH recommended the Office of the Dean of Faculty support faculty participation in the Sexual Abuse Faculty/Administrator Advisory Network. The report advised each department to identify at least one voluntary participant in SAAN.
Sexual harassment training for the faculty was also addressed in the report. SASH is prepared to assist the Office of the Dean of Faculty in selecting faculty training models.
