Proposed rules would combat sex offenses on campus
By Roy Ockert Jr.
June 21, 2014
“Colleges and universities that want to keep sweeping it under the rug will find it hard to keep doing so given the reporting requirements.”
That was the reaction of Lisa Maatz, an official with the American Association of University Women, last week after President Barack Obama signed proposed rules that would amend the Clery Act and extend additional rights to campus victims under the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013.
The reauthorization of VAWA, originally passed in 1994, got caught up in a partisan squabble over provisions involving same-sex couples and illegal immigrants. But the changes in the Clery Act, long overdue, are now on a fast track.
As mentioned last week, the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, passed in 1990, was named after a Lehigh University freshman who was raped and murdered in her dormitory in 1986. The law requires colleges and universities to publish annual reports on crime statistics, including sex offenses.
The problem is that the law has loopholes allowing instutions to produce incomplete statistics, such as by defining a rape committed by one known to the victim as “non-forcible.”
The Obama administration is now using Title IX, the 1972 law that prohibits gender discrimination in college sports, to require the institutions to address sexual violence or lose federal funding. A list of 55 colleges and universities, including some of the big names like Ohio State, Harvard and Southern California, are under investigation over their handling of sexual abuse complaints by their students.
Amending the Clery Act would require higher education officials to produce accurate reports about crime on campus, even if those reports might negatively affect recruiting and fund-raising.
According to the Federal Register, the new rules would include these provisions:
• Colleges and universities would be required to report annual statistics on dating violence, domestic violence and stalking, in addition to sexual assault.
• Sexual assault would be defined as “an offense that meets the definition of rape, fondling, incest or statutory rape.”
• The definition of “rape” would be changed to match the FBI’s current definition so that it would include sodomy and sexual assault with an object.
• “Hate crime” would be redefined to add gender identity and to separate ethnicity and national origin into independent categories.
• Institutions would be required to provide and describe in their annual security reports the prevention and awareness programs for students and staff members.
• Institutions would be required to provide for a prompt, fair and impartial disciplinary proceeding, conducted by officials who are appropriately trained and not having bias or a conflict of interest toward the accuser of the accused. Afterward, the involved parties would have access to a complete written report of the findings.
• Institutions would be required to describe each type of disciplinary proceeding used and the decision-making process for each. They would also have to describe all possible sanctions that might be imposed as a result of such proceedings.
Anyone interested in commenting has until July 21. The easy way to submit comments is through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. For more information go to www.federalregister.com and search for Violence Against Women Act.
The proposed rules changes were developed by a committee including victims of sexual assault, advocacy groups, law enforcement officers and college personnel.
Last month the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees took action to get ahead of the new rules, adopting a system-wide policy designed to complement existing policies and efforts of the system’s individual campuses.
According to an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette report, System President Donald Bobbitt told the trustees in a letter that the need for changes had become apparent after a finding that the lack of a systemwide Title IX policy was “a potential deficiency in the process.”
Arkansas State University’s board passed a resolution last month changing the staff handbook to include Title IX policies, the article said.
Other colleges and universities in the state should follow suit, if they have not already.
All the institutions already are required to publish their policies and statistics under the Clery Act, and you can usually find copies of these reports by going to the college or university Web site and searching for “Clery Act.” Each report covers three years for comparison purposes.
For example, the latest report for UA-Fayetteville shows four forcible sex offenses in 2012, five in 2011 and one in 2010. It does shows no non-forcible sex offenses. ASU’s report shows one forcible sex offense in 2012, none in 2011 and five in 2010. No non-forcible offenses were reported.
The only report I found for Arkansas Tech’s covered 2008-2010, including one forcible sex offense in 2010 and two in 2009. I found references to three reports on the UA-Pine Bluff Web site but no links to the actual reports, just a handbook.
Private institutions are also required to produce and publish the reports if they want to qualify for federal funding. The reports for Harding University at Searcy are easy to find and read. The latest, for 2010-12, shows no sex offenses — in fact, not a single crime of any kind, not even a liquor law violation.
Perhaps Harding should publish its secret.
Roy Ockert is editor emeritus of The Jonesboro Sun. He may be reached by e-mail at royo@suddenlink.net.