Staying In Line with Title IX

Last week, the College dismissed a student accused of perpetrating multiple incidents of sexual misconduct. And just over two weeks ago, Harvard College appointed associate dean of student life and former resident dean William Cooper ’94 along with Administrative Board case manager Emily J. Miller as its first-ever Title IX coordinators. The first of these events represents the problem and the second, part of a sorely needed solution.

In appointing Cooper and Miller, Harvard has taken a significant step toward the sexual assault reform crucial to protecting student safety and wellbeing. While the creation of a policy-focused working group on sexual assault—an undertaking the University’s Title IX officer Mia Karvonides is currently facilitating—constitutes an essential part of the process, so too does the establishment of the new coordinator positions.

Harvard’s process for handling alleged cases of sexual assault has many flaws. The need for improvement is evidenced by the shocking infrequency of dismissal on the grounds of sexual assault; the expulsion announced last week marked a rare instance of the Faculty council opting for the harshest possible punishment, something that is not known to have occurred since 2010—when a student was forced to withdraw permanently for hacking into teaching staff email accounts. Assault survivors at Harvard have highlighted this same concern with the reporting and adjudication process: many claim that the College does not respond appropriately to student complaints, often letting the accused off with no punishment at all after what victims see as unbalanced and unjust closed-door deliberations.

Of course, creating two new jobs is no silver bullet. As we have previously opined, policy must change to ensure fairness to assault survivors once their cases reach the Ad Board. But as those survivors work through the reporting and investigative process, it is Harvard’s duty to offer them an easily accessible, effective support structure. Cooper and Miller, who will work with faculty, students, and staff to address sex discrimination and assault at the College, can aid in establishing an efficient and fair system.

In an ideal world, or at an ideal school, change to Harvard's sexual assault policies would not remain a goal for the distant future but instead would accompany the coordinative improvements with which Cooper and Miller have been tasked. But in our imperfect reality at our imperfect institution, something is better than nothing. As Harvard works with all deliberate speed to improve its system, we eagerly await news of further steps toward justice for all victims of sexual assault at the College and at the University as a whole.