Sexual Harassment and Assault Policies on Campus

Author: Cloe Shasha

Members of the Community Council convened on Oct. 15 to review the College's sexual harassment policy, which, according to Council officials, will be updated to help protect the privacy of individuals filing a harassment complaint.

Gus Jordan, associate dean of the College, led the discussion and spoke of new methods for creating an overarching policy with a single judicial process for sexual harassment and assault. The Human Relations Grievance Board currently serves as a supportive resource but is not trained in the judicial process for filed complaints. Since the judicial board members already possess the skills for legal intervention, the Community Council initiated the training of the judicial board to address the same harassment and assault issues raised through Human Relations.

"Abigail Blum ['09] made the key point here - People who are being trained to serve at judicial boards have experience to deal with these hearings," said Community Council Co-Chair Tim Spears. "But most Human Resource Advisers do not even go into the judicial process. The work they do is really important, and I think mixing the two is a problematic conflict of interest. We would not be using people's expertise and talent in the best way we could."

One product of a change in the overarching policy regarding sexual harassment and assault is the potential disintegration of privacy.

"If I wanted help but wanted to keep my name a secret," asked Canem Ozyildirim '10, "would I only be able to ask for help from those that are sworn to confidentiality rather than those that may be more professionally capable?"

Jordan said ending the harassment would remain the first priority.

"If you bring a complaint of harassment, your privacy will be protected, but the institution is required by law to stop the harassment," he said. "It is important that the person bringing the concern understands that if they bring the story, they might lose confidentiality in a serious situation."

As a part of an effective intervention program, some Council members approved the idea of publishing filed complaints of sexual harassment and assault in The Middlebury Campus.

"It would help a great deal to cut through the gossip and misunderstandings and create a climate of clear understanding," said Student Co-Chair of Community Council Eric Hoest '08.

Several students raised objections to the suggestions.

"There are some situations in which cases should remain anonymous," Peyton Coles '08 said. "If the information is really painful for the people involved, maybe it should not be published in The Campus."

Currently, there are few filed records of sexual harassment or assault on campus. The goal of implementing the College's policies is to recognize "a pattern" in the actions of harassers or assaulters.

"Right now, we have no policy whatsoever to follow anyone," said Jordan. "We have no records of something that happened two years ago. So at least [with this proposal] we have a chance of identifying repeat offenders."

Currently, in the College handbook, harassment policies apply to all members of the College, but sexual assault policies apply only to students.