Sexual Assault Findings Discussed

At an open forum last night, students and faculty members urged members of the Leaning Committee to ensure that its recent recommendations on Harvard’s sexual assault policy are effectively and quickly implemented.

The committee released its report last Thursday, advocating the creation of an Office for Sexual Assault Prevention and Response that would oversee new training and education programs for various members of the Harvard community. The report also called for some changes to the Administrative Board, including a “Single Fact Finder” to investigate cases of sexual assault brought before the Ad Board.

Students at the meeting in Ticknor Lounge—including members of the the Coalition Against Sexual violence (CASV) who have stridently criticized Harvard’s sexual assault policy in the past—greeted these recommendations, particularly the creation of the office, with enthusiasm.

But from the outset of the question and answer session, attendees expressed concern about how, by whom and when the recommendations would be put into effect.

“What’s to prevent this from being a forgotten report?” asked Alisha C. Johnson ’04, a member of CASV.

Other students asked about the status of an advisory committee proposed in the report that would give feedback on new programs.

Leaning and other members of the committee said that although upper-level administrators responded positively to the report, there was a need for community pressure to keep the recommendations on track.

“This office is going to happen,” said Committee Chair and Professor of International Health Jennifer Leaning. “[Administrators] need it. You need it. We need it.”

Professor of History of Science Everett I. Mendelsohn, a committee member, said students would be a crucial part of the implementation process and should not allow the recommendations to be forgotten.

Several students mentioned a need for student input in hiring staffers for the new office and evaluating the effectiveness and perception of the new office by the student body.

Members did not say who the new director of the office would be.

But Johnson praised Susan Marine, the coordinator of sexual assault prevention and services, for her receptiveness to student feedback and dedication to the issue.

Dean of Undergraduate Education Benedict H. Gross ’71, who will assume the role of dean of the College in July, said that many steps for implementation were underway, pending an expected approval from the faculty in May.

“It was an excellent report,” he said. “It gives us some concrete steps we can really take. It’s a big commitment but a worthwhile one.”

Gross said that a night for the new evening of sexual assault prevention education during Freshman Week was already scheduled, and that administrators have already started the hunt for an education coordinator.

In response to audience questions about the details of the office’s staff, committee members said that properly addressing the question of same-sex sexual violence and hiring a male employee to work with men’s groups were two of their priorities.

The discussion frequently expanded to include other issues—such as social space, disciplinary policy, and interpersonal relationships at Harvard—that fell outside the mandate of the committee itself, but which members said were unavoidable during their period of research.

“We sensed a deep dissatisfaction about how people interact with each other on this campus,” said committee member Katharine Park, professor of the history of science and chair of the Committee on Women’s Studies.

Park and others on the committee said they hope that the revised education and the new office would bring many of these issues to further public attention.

—Staff writer Sarah M. Seltzer can be reached at sseltzer@fas.harvard.edu.