New law makes reporting, preventing sexual assault a top priority on college campuses

Point Park University senior Ren Finkel is pretty active in her school.

She can tell you how much tuition has increased over the past four decades. She’s participated in the university’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity. And she’s a member of the university’s Student Solidarity activist organization.

But if Finkel or a friend were to be sexually assaulted tomorrow, she wouldn’t know how to report it, or where to turn for support on campus.

“I wouldn’t know,” says Finkel. “I’d have a few ideas. I know a few guidance counselors. I know the campus police’s number, but I wouldn’t really know where to get help. And if I don’t know, it worries me.”

Point Park is one of two Pittsburgh universities being investigated by the U.S. Department of Education for their past handling of sexual-assault cases. For the first time, in 2014, in an effort to increase transparency and awareness, the department released a list of the schools being investigated for Title IX violations.

Carnegie Mellon University is also on the list. The more than 100 schools currently being examined across the country have been accused of failing to fairly investigate and arbitrate cases of sexual violence.

But a new law should prevent future mishandling of such cases, in time for students returning to school in the fall. The federal Campus Sexual Violence Elimination (SaVE) Act, that went into effect July 1, requires colleges and universities to revamp policies dealing with sexual violence.

“The Campus SaVE Act makes a huge leap forward in protecting college communities and providing resources for victims of domestic or dating violence, sexual assault and stalking,” says U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.), who spoke to reporters during a July 1 conference call on the bill. “When students start, or return to, college in the fall, they will benefit from new prevention programs designed to reduce sexual abuse and dating violence, and will have new protections under the law.”

Local victim-advocacy organizations have supported and championed the law. And local university administrators say much of what’s required under the new regulations is already in place. But some students, primarily at schools on the list of those being investigated, are reserving judgment until they see for themselves the legislation’s impact on campus sexual violence.

“I want to give the university a chance to stand by its students, but I really think it’s something we’re going to be keeping an eye on,” says Finkel. “It’s such a direct threat.”

The new rules were included in the March 2013 reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, as part of the Clery Act, which requires higher-education institutions to disclose information about crime on and near campus, at the time it occurs, and as part of an annual security report.

Under the Campus SaVE Act, each institution is required to document annually its awareness-and-prevention program for domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking, as well as the procedures it follows when these crimes occur.

Schools must also explain to students, in writing, what their rights are anytime a student reports sexual violence. This should include the victim’s right to notify law enforcement, receive help from the school in reporting, and seek a protective order.

“Full implementation of the Campus SaVE Act is a big step toward the goal of protecting every student,” says Casey, who co-authored the legislation.

Institutions must also teach bystander education, which is a prevention strategy that focuses on teaching male and female students that they have a responsibility to prevent sexual assaults and how to do this.

Noncompliance can result in fines up to $35,000 per violation and loss of eligibility for federal student-aid programs.

“We know that the fight to eliminate campus sexual assault will not end overnight, and it won’t end with these changes,” says Casey. “But this is telling the whole community [that] this is your problem. It’s everyone’s problem. Everyone has to be part of the solution.”

The prevention and education aspects of the new regulations are what Finkel says are especially important.

“A lot of instances of rape and sexual assault are not someone being pulled off the street by a stranger,” says Finkel. “I’m hoping that’s part of this whole education thing.”

Finkel said Point Park currently has a few presentations for students that focus on sexual assault. But she’d like to see more education on consent. It’s a topic, she says, which was largely absent from the sex education she received growing up.

“There’s a lack of education; there’s a narrative of victim-blaming,” says Finkel. “The good thing about dealing with it at college is if it starts here, then for the rest of their life, they know what’s right and what’s wrong. This is really the cornerstone of having better-educated adults.”

But she’s also hoping to see more information provided so students know where they can go during a crisis, and that the people they turn to, who may be faculty and staff members, have more training so that they can provide appropriate responses and aid.

“You hear so many horror stories about people reporting. There’s a culture of being afraid to report, because they’ve heard a million stories of people not caring,” says Finkel.

Point Park administrators say the university has been doing a lot of the work required in the legislation already.

“Point Park is very lucky that the senior leadership took it very seriously and started putting stuff in place a few years back,” says Elizabeth Rosemeyer, assistant director of Title IX compliance for Point Park. “So when the deadline rolled around, we were already prepared.”

Rosemeyer says the university has started documenting more of the prevention programming that was already happening and looking for ways they “could beef that up.”

“Any good program is done in multiple mediums. It’s not a one-shot, it’s done throughout the year,” says Rosemeyer. “Our incoming freshmen participate in an online training before they even arrive on campus. And once they’re here, they participate in a variety of programs. And then, we have a number of activities throughout the year where people learn about bystander intervention, consent.”

Point Park officials aren’t allowed to comment on the current investigation. They also wouldn’t say whether they had to change current policies and procedures to meet the new requirements.

“I think we’re confident that every student here is aware of the resources available to them,” says Point Park spokesperson Louis Casaro. “We don’t have any concerns that our students don’t have access to the resources they need.”

Officials at Carnegie Mellon responded similarly.

“Carnegie Mellon University is committed to promoting a safe and secure environment for all members of our university community,” CMU spokesperson Abby Simmons said in a statement to City Paper. “For many years, we have had policies, procedures and training in place to prevent and address dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. We continue to review and adjust our policies, procedures and training to make them more effective and ensure compliance with new guidance and regulations, including those set forth in the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act.”

But to some students at Point Park and CMU, the ongoing investigations at their schools are a signal that university administrators aren’t doing an adequate job of handling sexual violence on campus.

“So many schools, Point Park included, want to sweep under the rug anything that can’t go in to a promotional pamphlet,” says Finkel. “If they deal with cases and report them, there’s accountability.”

“It makes me pretty embarrassed for my school, and more importantly, worried for the victims involved,” says CMU graduate student Marjorie Carlson. “The school definitely needs to do more.”

Carlson is encouraged by the newly enacted legislation and agrees that the education and prevention aspects of the requirements could have the most impact. And like Finkel, she hopes the education will be more than what has been traditionally offered.

“It seems like it can only be a good thing to have more education,” says Carlson. “There’s a lot of potential for doing education aimed at men, and I don’t want it to be just a women-be-more-fearful campaign.”

According to Kristen Houser, chief public-affairs officer for Pennsylvania Action Against Rape and one of the Campus SaVE Act’s supporters, the new requirements will be about educating administrators, faculty and staff as well.

“Sexual assault is a vastly misunderstood issue,” says Houser. “You have people making decisions who may not be making them with full information. [This law is] much more inclusive of the spectrum and array of crimes and all of the people who can be victimized.”

Some facets of the law include an expanded definition of sexual assault, which now includes same-sex assaults. Houser says it also provides “much more stringent guidance, so there’s less room for individual administrators to make judgment calls,” based on personal experiences and opinions.

But Houser says sometimes addressing sexual violence isn’t just up to local universities. And for that reason, she says these new regulations won’t completely fix the problems still present.

“If you have a campus that is aggressive and appropriate in responding to sexual-assault cases in a community where a prosecutor isn’t willing to bring charges if the case involves parties who knew each other, and/or alcohol and drugs were involved, and/or there are no indicators of gratuitous violence, there is a problem,” says Houser. “Universities are not the only entities who must work to end sexual violence on campus.”

This article appears in Jul 15-21, 2015.