Students found guilty of sexual assault involving penetration, oral-genital contact or oral-anal contact after use of force, threat or purposeful incapacitation of a survivor, as well as students motivated by bias or with prior records of sexual assault who commit these acts, would face expulsion from the College if a proposed disciplinary policy is enacted. Alumni, national sexual assault advocates and students expressed cautious optimism about the proposal, with many calling it a move in the right direction.
The proposal, released March 14, would set a “strong presumption” that any sexual assault would result in expulsion, regardless of intent, means or a perpetrator’s prior violations.
Current College policy says that students guilty of actual or attempted sexual penetration without consent or those guilty of repeatedly committing sexual misconduct “should be prepared to be permanently separated from the College.”
The proposed policy includes stipulations and possible sanctions for both individuals and organizations who aid or incite others to commit or cover up sexual assault and those who retaliate against a person involved in a sexual assault case. Possible sanctions according to the proposed policy include: organizational removal from College-owned housing, loss of College recognition, expulsion, probation and fines.
Trained external investigators will review sexual assault complaints under the new proposal. Currently, Safety and Security conducts investigations to determine College sanctions.
Three College officials — the director of judicial affairs, the Title IX coordinator and a representative designated by the dean of the alleged perpetrator’s school — would determine sanctions for those found responsible, not a Committee on Standards panel, under the proposed policy.
The proposed policy defines consent as “clear and unambiguous agreement, expressed in mutually understandable words or actions, to engage in a particular activity.” Consent can be withdrawn at any time and must be voluntarily given, the policy says.
Members of the Dartmouth community can comment on or submit suggestions to the policy by email or on Improve Dartmouth until April 14. Trustees expressed unanimous support for the proposal, which the College aims to enact by summer 2014, during the March 8 Board of Trustees meeting.
Alumni, national sexual assault advocates and students said that while the proposal shows promise, there are still improvements to be made.
Susy Struble ’93, founder of the nonprofit advocacy organization Dartmouth Change, said the proposal exemplifies the type of leadership she has hoped for. More work — like releasing comprehensive data about the frequency of sexual assault incidents — should be done, she said, and campus attitudes toward sexual assault should be better evaluated.
The lack of openly available data has created a credibility gap between administrators and community members, she said. This makes it hard to assess if problems are being effectively addressed.
“We want to know that whatever they are putting in place matches the problem,” she said. “That’s why our number-one thing is that we need independent analysis.”
Occidental College professor Caroline Heldman, co-founder of End Rape on Campus and the lead complainant in Occidental College’s Title IX complaint, said the trustees’ decision is positive from a national perspective. At other schools, she noted, students calling for mandatory expulsion for sexual assault perpetrators have often faced resistance from administrators. She said it was impressive that the Board of Trustees was acting on the issue, as it has the most institutional power.
Student and Presidential Committee on Sexual Assault chair Will Scheiman ’14 said in an email that the proposal is, in part, a result of the collaboration between the SPCSA, Hanlon and Johnson. The group looks forward to hearing campus input at its April 4 symposium.
Holli Weed ’14, who has worked extensively with sexual violence issues on campus, said she was not surprised by the announcement or its source. Many different groups, faculty, alumni and students have asked for change, she said.
Arun Reddy ’17 said that while he supports the policy, he questions its eventual impact since it does not target campus culture.
Other Ivy League universities, as well as other institutions facing Title IX investigations and Clery Act complaints, are considering similar policies.
Harvard University’s policy has also been strongly criticized, The Huffington Post and The Crimson reported in partnership. At Harvard, penalties for sexual harassment depend on the nature of the offense and range from reprimand to dismissal.
Unlike many American universities, including Dartmouth, Harvard does not have an affirmative consent policy. Affirmative consent defines sexual assault as occurring in the absence of enthusiastic verbal or physical consent. It must not be given as a result of physical coercion or threat of bodily harm.
Swarthmore is reviewing its sexual misconduct policy and currently has an interim sexual assault and harassment policy, which places all responsibility for investigating and taking appropriate action on Swarthmore, not the complainant.
Amherst College, which saw two former students file Title IX complaints against its handling of sexual assault in the fall, expelled a student this winter for committing sexual assault, a punishment that had not been used for sexual assault in over a decade.
Josh Schiefelbein and Sera Kwon contributed reporting to this article.
