Tufts students are greeted early on in their time on the Hill by an extensive sexual assault prevention program, from the blue light telephones introduced on campus tours, to presentations during orientation week, followed by the array of sexual crime prevention posters displayed in virtually every dorm on campus. However, incidents of sexual assault, unfortunately, do occur. The university maintains an official policy on sexual assault that allows a victim to pursue four different courses of action to be taken against his or her assailant: mediation between the victim and perpetrator, a campus stay-away order, a university hearing or the accused person leaving the university. These consequences have varying degrees of disciplinary action associated with them — the campus stay-away order, for example, is not a disciplinary measure.
Concerned Tufts students, specifically members of the student group Students Active for Ending Rape and members of the Tufts Community Union Senate, are taking issue with this policy, criticizing its weaknesses and calling it unfair and confusing. Such issues include the leniency of the mediation option, the subjectivity that administrators may succumb to when making important decisions regarding sexual assault and the fact that victims may not be accompanied to a university hearing by an attorney.
The university is currently reviewing the sexual assault policy, a measure that the Daily applauds. While Tufts works to amend the policy, it is important to recognize that sexual assault is a problem that is dealt with all over the world, including at seemingly picturesque college campuses. A recent Department of Justice survey examining 10 New England schools including Tufts, UMass Amherst and Northeastern, found that 240 cases of alleged sexual assault were reported between 2003 and 2008. These statistics likely underrepresent the number of sexual assaults that actually occurred, as the Justice Department statistics were only drawn from years that the schools received grants; the numbers also do not include the tremendous amount of sexual assault incidents that are not reported at all. Tufts, not alone among its peers, appears to have been stuck in the mindset that just because a sexual assault occurs on campus and the victim chooses to keep the investigation and disciplinary actions within the context of the university that appropriately strict measures do not need to be taken.
The Boston Globe last week pointed out that Tufts has yet to expel, require counseling or suspend a student accused of sexual assault, even though the school received a large grant in 1999 from the Justice Department's Office of Violence Against Women. There are, however, inherent difficulties in collecting data on sexual assault cases from universities. Tufts does not necessarily report to the Justice Department every action taken with regard to sexual assault. In addition, schools generally will not report incidents of sexual assault without a victim's consent; Tufts will not inform the Justice Department of interventions or measures taken by the university against the offender. However, information regarding cases of sexual assault should be available at Tufts. Students and faculty must know that their school will take every measure possible to ensure their safety. Factors like the reputation of the school should be negligible when the safety of a member of the university community is at stake.
As administrators work to amend the university's policy, it should be kept in mind that reporting sexual assault may be the hardest thing someone ever has to do — victims often feel that they are to blame or are ashamed. It is difficult to tell a friend, much less pursue judicial action within the university, and even more of a stretch to seek legal action. For this reason, many sexual assault cases will remain within the jurisdiction of the university. The university should therefore make it its responsibility to ensure that the proper action is taken. Sexual assault is never simply a university problem; it is a serious legal infraction and should be treated as such.
