College officials formed the Committee on Standards Sexual Review Committee to examine the COS procedures regarding sexual assault cases at the College, Assistant Dean of the College for Campus Life Kate Burke, who is chairing the new committee, said in an interview with The Dartmouth. After students and community members provide further feedback, the committee comprised of three students, two faculty members, an administrator and Burke will present its recommendations to College President Jim Yong Kim and the dean of the College, according to Burke.
The committee will spend the next two weeks gathering community feedback about current COS procedures from individuals and campus organizations, Burke said. Committee members will meet with Palaeopitus, Greek houses, the Student Athlete Advisory Council, the Inter-Community Council, the Student and Presidential Committee on Sexual Assault and other campus groups, according to Burke. She is also scheduling private meetings with interested students, Burke said.
In mid-May, the committee will submit a list of recommendations based on its findings, Burke said. After Commencement in June, the committee will present the recommendations and comments to Kim and the dean of the College.
The committee will examine how adjudication standards are articulated, the outcomes of COS hearings and what happens "in between," Burke said.The review will encompass everything from the Student Handbook terminology on sexual abuse to the perceived clarity of the COS process, according to Burke. The College will also speak with the College's general counsel to examine the best practices at other institutions, she said.
Collecting general student perceptions and impressions of the COS process is as important as receiving feedback from those who have gone through the process themselves, Burke said.
Of the seven person committee members Senior Associate Athletic Director for Compliance Drew Galbraith, biology professor Mary Lou Guerinot, theater professor Dan Kotlowitz, Max Yoeli '12, Akwugo Nmana '12 and Mattie Govan '11 five members have previously served on the COS, according to Burke.
"Having that base of experience about the process as it currently exists will really help us get into the details of the issues that might come up," Burke said.
The COS review will complement other campus efforts to combat sexual assault, which largely focus on education and prevention, Govan, a member of SPCSA, said.
Committee members emphasized that they want to make the review process as unbiased as possible and are collecting input without preconceived ideas about the kind of feedback they expect to receive.
"We're not biased about anything," Nnama said. "We're just taking in feedback and we're going to work with that."
Burke attended the SPCSA's executive meeting last week to gather members' input regarding the upcoming review, SPCSA chair Dani Levin '12 said.
"It sounds like they're doing a really thorough job of soliciting feedback to generate the new direction COS is going to take," she said. "They're taking into account that Dartmouth is a unique situation, and examining past experiences of students is going to help them maximize the improvements they're trying to make."
Levin said she hopes the committee will suggest improved training for the individuals who hear COS cases because she has heard repeated cases of inappropriate questions asked during sexual assault hearings that "demonstrate an unfamiliarity with the relevant issues to sexual assault."
Levin also said she would like the reviews to result in the re-examination and codification of penalties for sexual assault. The current inconsistencies in punishment can be frustrating for assault victims, she said.
"What I would really hope we come out of this with is a process that students can have faith in, on all sides of the matter, so students feel comfortable reporting assaults but feel like it's a fair process and everybody is given a fair hearing, including perpetrators," she said. In January, the Undergraduate Judicial Affairs Office released a "Handbook for Students Involved in Assault Cases: A Guide to the Committee on Standards Process" detailing the COS process and offering students involved in sexual assault cases tips for navigating resources and understanding the COS process.
COS hearings for sexual assault cases involve a panel of five Dartmouth community members two faculty members, two students and one administrator and require a majority vote to find the accused student responsible, according to the handbook.
The victim and the accused student are each entitled to choose an advisor who must be a current Dartmouth student, faculty member or employee to support and assist the student throughout the COS process.
The victim may appear in person, via video conference or over the phone at the hearing, and may choose to be shielded from the view of the other participants by a screen, according to the handbook. The victim and the accused are permitted to request witnesses, and witnesses whose statements are considered relevant by the COS testify at the hearing, the handbook says.
The College adjudicated 26 cases of sexual abuse between 1998 and 2008, according to COS sanctioning guidelines. Nine of the accused students were found not responsible, 16 were found responsible and one student withdrew from the College before the COS heard the case.
Of the 16 students found responsible in COS hearings, four were permanently separated from the College and 10 students were suspended for one to six terms, depending on the perceived severity of the offense, according to sanctioning guidelines provided by the Undergraduate Judicial Affairs Office. Two students were placed on probation for the remainder of their College careers.
During the 2009-2010 academic year, COS heard one sexual abuse case in which the accused student was found responsible and suspended for four terms, according to the Judicial Affairs Office's annual report. Another three cases involved assault or threats of harm in romantic relationships, the report said.
The committee's creation coincides with the planned announcement of new U.S. Department of Education guidelines to help colleges and universities handle sexual assault cases, Burke said. Colleges and universities across the country recently have been engaging in heightened discussion regarding sexual assault and sexual misconduct.
The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights is investigating Yale University after 16 students and alumni filed a formal complaint on March 15, alleging that the university mishandled several sexual misconduct cases, the Yale Daily News reported. The complainants allege that Yale violated Title IX which prohibits gender-based discrimination in education programs by failing to properly respond to incidences of sexual misconduct on campus.
Yale students and alumni began organizing their complaint in October, after a widely publicized incident in which members of Yale's Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity marched through campus yelling misogynistic chants, the News reported.
Levin is a member of The Dartmouth Blog Staff.
