On Tuesday, April 1, 2008 the Sexual Assault Work Group held a town meeting to discuss some of the recommendations they might make for changes to the judicial conduct code and hearing process as it applies to cases of sexual assault.
* Moving from a single charge for all sexual offenses to separate charges for different types of offenses -- rape, sexual assault, verbal harassment, etc. (Currently all sexual offenses are charged under the following section: "All forms of sexual offense are expressly prohibited.")
* Mandating minimum judicial sanctions for sexual offense violations. This would be a dramatic change to the judicial system which is currently built upon a case-by-case review for all violations. This is perhaps one of the most challenging issues to resolve. The work group needs to consider:
- Would there be minimum sanctions for all sexual offenses, or just some offenses?
- Should we have minimum sanctions for sexual offenses when other serious violations like hate crimes, harassment, and so forth do not have minimum sanctions?
- How comfortable are we with implementing minimum sanctions that vary depending on the type of offense? What kind of message do varying sanctions send to the victim?
* Allowing the student bringing the charges (the victim) to appeal the outcome of a hearing board. Currently the hearing board process at Ithaca only permits the student who is being charged to appeal the outcome of the hearing board. If we were to permit a victim appeal, we would need to determine under what circumstances an appeal would be permitted.
* Implementing new educational efforts that will have an educational impact on the student who committed the sexual offense.
The members of the Sexual Assault Work Group would like to hear your input/reactions regarding these potential recommendations. If you were unable to attend the town meeting or felt uncomfortable participating in this forum, then please feel free to provide your input to us.
Contact one of the work group members to provide your feedback. We would be happy to meet with you individually or receive your input via e-mail. You can reach us to provide feedback or schedule an appointment at the following addresses:
Bonnie Solt Prunty
Director of Residential Life and Judicial Affairs
bprunty@ithaca.edu
Mike Leary
Assistant Director of Judicial Affairs
mleary@ithaca.edu
Patty Sinclair
Residence Director psinclair@ithaca.edu
Aaron Bloom
President, Student Government
abloom1@ithaca.edu
Allison Bliss
Chair, IC Feminists
abliss1@ithaca.edu
Sarah Brylinsky
Resident Assistant and
IC Feminists representative
sbrylinsky1@ithaca.edu
Dan Wald
Chair, Students For Ending Rape (SAFER)
dwald1@ithaca.edu
You can also provide feedback anonymously by dropping it off at the Office of Residential Life or the IC Feminists box in the Student Activities Center.
