New Act Will Force College to Change Sex Assault Policy

Harvard will take major steps to codify and revise its sexual assault policy in accordance with an amendment to the Higher Education Reauthorization Act.

The new law will force the college's administrative board to hear testimony from both the accused and the accuser in sexual assault cases. Under current College policy only the accused appears before the Administrative Board.

Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57 said that there would be little difficulty in including the provision. "We are already talking about it...[and] concluded we wanted to go that way anyway," he said.

The amendment to the reauthorization act requires all federally-funded universities to issue policy statements describing steps disciplinary officials will take once a student charges another with sexual assault.

The College was already considering implementing a written sexual assault policy based on this spring's Date Rape Taskforce report, said Assistant Dean of the College for Co-Education Janet A. viggiani.

"Even without the law we were going to have a policy of sexual assault," she said. The College already has an informal policy of allowing students to change classes and Houses to avoid encountering alleged attackers and refers thoseclaiming to be victims of sexual assault to theDistrict Attorney's "Victim Witness Program,"Viggiani said.

The law contains several other provisions inaddition to allowing both the accused and accusersto be heard in disciplinary proceedings, Collegesmust institute mandatory education and rapeawareness programs on campus and referral ofalleged victims to appropriate counsellingservices. Accusers must also be allowed to changeclasses and dormitories in order to avoid theiralleged assailants.

The amendment, popularly called the CampusSexual Assault Victims' Bill of rights Act,effectively forces universities to have a ruleviolation called rape, said Howard K. Clery Jr.,president of Security on Campus, Inc., who helpedwrite the bill.

The Harvard College Handbook currently does notspecify rape as a violation of college codes.Students accused of sexual assault are charged andpunished for "conduct unbecoming a Harvardstudent," Viggiani said.

The College took "very serious action in anumber of cases" and "required several people towithdraw for allegations of physical and sexualassault" last year, Viggiani said

The law contains several other provisions inaddition to allowing both the accused and accusersto be heard in disciplinary proceedings, Collegesmust institute mandatory education and rapeawareness programs on campus and referral ofalleged victims to appropriate counsellingservices. Accusers must also be allowed to changeclasses and dormitories in order to avoid theiralleged assailants.

The amendment, popularly called the CampusSexual Assault Victims' Bill of rights Act,effectively forces universities to have a ruleviolation called rape, said Howard K. Clery Jr.,president of Security on Campus, Inc., who helpedwrite the bill.

The Harvard College Handbook currently does notspecify rape as a violation of college codes.Students accused of sexual assault are charged andpunished for "conduct unbecoming a Harvardstudent," Viggiani said.

The College took "very serious action in anumber of cases" and "required several people towithdraw for allegations of physical and sexualassault" last year, Viggiani said