To the Editor:
I'm writing on behalf of the Dean of the College Office to express appreciation for The Dartmouth's recent coverage of issues concerning sexual assault and campus safety. Although Dartmouth is a relatively safe campus, it is important for members of the Dartmouth community to be conscious of safety concerns. As your article ("S&S assault nos. lower than usual," Nov. 14) correctly points out, statistics about sexual assault and other campus crimes and violations of College standards tell only part of the story. It is also important for members of our community to be well-informed about what the statistics actually do and don't represent.
Every year, Dartmouth publishes and distributes a variety of reports that relate to campus safety. Those include the federally-mandated Campus Crime Report concerning crimes reported to the Department of Safety and Security and Hanover Police, the report about cases reviewed by the College disciplinary system and the Commitee on Standards and a summary of reports of sexual abuse to the Coordinator of the Sexual Abuse Awareness Program. It is important to understand the different reporting criteria to understand the difference in the numbers and kinds of incidents reported by various departments. For example, the annual Campus Crime Report concerns incidents that result in either criminal investigations with the Hanover Police, or some federally-mandated categories of disciplinary complaints made to College officials. As the Sexual Assault and Awareness Program report points out about sexual abuse statistics in particular:
"It is important to clarify that not every incident of sexual abuse that occurs at Dartmouth is reported to the Coordinator of SAAP, the Department of Safety and Security or the Hanover Police. It is equally important to note that the number of complaints filed by Dartmouth students with the Office of the Dean of the College or the Undergraduate Judical Affairs Office (UJAO) (to initiate disciplinary proceedings) or with the Hanover Police (to initiate criminal proceedings) represent only a portion of the reports received in confidence by the Coordinator of the SAAP and other resources. There is no obligation on the part of the reporting student(s) to follow the report to the coordinator with a report either to the UJAO or the Hanover Police." We also know from national statistics that the reports to the Coordinator represent only a portion of possible instances of sexual abuse.
My colleagues and I hope that students will read these reports carefully when they are distributed early every Fall term. Unfortunately, we find way too many of them discarded, unopened and unread, in the trash and recycling bins at the Hinman Post Office. We also hope that students who experience sexual abuse will contact the SAAP Coordinator, and we hope that they will also report any behavior that might constitute a crime to the Judicial Affairs Office, Campus Security, and Hanover Police so that individuals who are responsible can be held accountable.
