Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan visited the University of New Hampshire Monday, the same day President Obama officially announced his campaign for re-election. But this visit was no campaign rally. Instead, Biden and Duncan kicked off an effort to remind public schools and colleges of their responsibility under federal law to deal with sexual violence.
The U.S. Department of Education reports that "nearly 20 percent of college women will be victims of attempted or actual sexual assault, as will about 6 percent of undergraduate men." Not here, we might respond, but as Duncan pointed out, "Every school would like to believe it is immune from sexual violence, but the facts suggest otherwise." Indeed, Trish Bakaitis-Glover, sexual assault response and prevention program coordinator with Health Services, told The Herald last year that she has no reason to believe that the statistics would be different at Brown.
Federal law mandates that colleges receiving federal money devise "comprehensive guidelines for filing complaints, helping victims, disciplining perpetrators and monitoring campus climates" in response to sexual violence. Brown administrators are surely well-intentioned, but regulatory pressure to improve the University's response to sexual violence is welcome nonetheless. We hope the renewed emphasis on these regulations is lasting, not merely a temporary reminder. Because few things can damage a campus's reputation like rape and sexual assault, administrators have strong incentives to keep the details of sexual violence as quiet as possible. Furthermore, it is all too easy to lose sight of a response plan's importance until tragedy strikes.
Events that took place last semester at University of Notre Dame underscore these points. Elizabeth Seeberg, a freshman at a nearby college, reported Sept. 1 that a Notre Dame football player sexually assaulted her the previous night. Campus police did not even interview the accused until 14 days after the report, and a few days after Seeberg committed suicide. While the accused continued to play in football games, the university did all it could to keep the story quiet. A few days after Seeberg's report, another freshman told campus police she was sexually assaulted. Again, police did not interview the accused until 11 days later.
Brown has its own history of questionable responses to sexual violence. In 1997, the University settled a suit brought by Adam Lack, who was suspended for sexual misconduct before later being exonerated, and the University is a defendant in an ongoing case brought by William McCormick, who was compelled to leave after being accused of rape. Both cases raise questions about due process afforded to students accused of sexual violence. And, following a 1996 University Disciplinary Committee decision not to hear a student's sexual assault allegations, Brown was briefly investigated by the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.
While Brown maintains many laudable programs aimed at stemming sexual violence, these tribulations underscore the difficulty of handling accusations. We hope increased federal attention will ensure administrators stay focused on improving our policies, but students play perhaps an even greater role in combating sexual violence.
Yale is currently under investigation by the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights for failing to eliminate a "hostile sexual environment" after several high-profile incidents. Brown students have not made headlines in similar fashion, but we know such behavior occurs here. Even the most effective administrative response cannot change campus culture — only students can. We must strive to make Brown a place where sexual violence is completely unacceptable and where victims receive proper attention without stigma.
Editorials are written by The Herald's editorial page board. Send comments to editorials@browndailyherald.com.
