The Observer, February 22, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 18
New sexual assault policy to take more aggressive stance
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A new sexual assault policy is about to be passed on campus that should clarify new procedures and will require the Case community to take a stronger stand against sexual assault.
A university task force formed in 1994 reviewed the policies and procedures regarding sexual assault. However, few necessary changes were made. In September 2007, the Sexual Assault Policy Task Force was formed in a second effort to revise the policy.
The committee is co-chaired by Katherine Karipides, associate provost, and Susan Nickel-Schindewolf, associate vice president for student affairs. The committee is comprised of 14 members, including an undergraduate student, a psychologist from University Counseling Services, and professors from the sociology and theater departments. Karipides and Nickel-Schindewolf were careful to include members from every part of the community.
The committee had three goals. First was to review the existing Case policy addressing sexual assault. The second goal was to ensure that the policy was responsive and compliant with the needs and interests of the community and the law. Finally, they made recommendations for revisions to the policy and procedures.
One of the most significant changes made to the policy is the way the university is required to respond to a reported sexual assault. Under the new policy, the university will be obligated to investigate any reports of abuse that are reported to a limited confidential source. Another change means that the differences between a limited confidential source and a privileged reporting source are now more clear. A limited confidential source would include a resident advisor, any faculty or staff member and members, of the Case Police and Security Services. If the student prefers, they can speak to a privileged reporting source, who is not required to report the crime. Anyone at University Counseling Services, Health Services, the campus clergy, and the health advocate at the Center for Women is a privileged reporting source.
Jon Kozesky, a sophomore accounting major, does not agree with the new changes. He believes that if someone is going to be prosecuted for sexual assault by the university, they should also have to be taken to court. "People accused of sexual assault should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law," he says.
Nickel-Schindewolf says that students were voicing their concern that the sexual assault policy was not clear. They were unsure of what would happen if they accused someone of sexual assault or if they were accused of sexual assault.
"There's a need for university policies to be more transparent. I think that a lot of policies when they were first written were just the facts. I think there's a need for students to understand a policy more fully so that when you look at it you know if you bring a complaint what will happen, what the process is, what to expect," said Nickel-Schindewolf.
After months of hard work, Nickel-Schindewolf believes that the policy is nearly able to be passed. There are a few more people who need to review it before it can be sent over to President Snyder for approval. Just as the task force looked to other universities' policies as a guide, Nickel-Schindewolf hopes that schools will turn to this policy for help.
Nickel-Schindewolf is very active in sexual assault prevention. She began a campaign 18 years ago that included the posters that hang in bathrooms all across campus with information about sexual assault. This is an issue that she takes very seriously and she is hopeful that this new policy will be helpful when a person needs to turn to it.
