The
SpringHillian October 1, 2015
Volume 101 Issue 2
Ad Majorem Del Gloriam
National Greek Organizations Endorse Controversial Bill
By: Trevor Warren Reporter National Greek organizations have endorsed a U.S. bill that will prevent colleges from punishing sexual assailants, unless the alleged victim reports the attack to the police. The bill, known as The Safe Campus Act, has sparked public debate, specifically its provision (sec. 163), that prohibits colleges from investigating sexual assault allegations unless the victim agrees to report it to local law enforcement. Should a student decide not to report the incident, the school would be forbidden to investigate or administer school
Badgers pose after attending Spring Hill’s latest self defense class. Photo by: Trevor Warren discipline against the accused student, regardless what evidence is available. However, the bill gives colleges the power to offer counseling and academic accommodations to the alleged victim. Advocates for the bill believe it strengthens the role of law enforcement in sexual assault cases. “If people commit criminal acts, they should be prosecuted and they should go to jail,” said Michael Greenberg, Grand Consul of Sigma Chi fraternity, in an interview with the Bloomberg Press. The North American Interfraternity Conference echoed this statement during its public endorsement of the Safe Campus Act. As stated in the bill itself, the Safe
Campus Act “will more effectively engage the criminal justice system in the investigation and adjudication of allegations of sexual violence, while still providing [sexual assault] survivors with access to support and resources throughout the criminal and/or campus adjudication process.” The statement went on to cite a recent national survey conducted by Penn Schoen Berland. This research found that 51% of likely voters strongly agree that “the legal system, not colleges, should be primarily responsible for deciding if students are guilty of sexual misconduct or assault.” Critics of the Safe Campus Act see the bill as harmful to victims of sexual assault, and believe that it would result in victims choosing
not to report the incidents at all. “There are times, for a variety of reasons, a student doesn’t want to go to local law enforcement,” said Peter Rivera, Director of Community Standards at Spring Hill College. Laury Rowland, Coordinator for Spring Hill College’s Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), commented on the act, saying “From an advocacy standpoint, the passage of this bill is extremely detrimental to the victim and their healing process. This bill sends the message that if you don’t go to law enforcement, then what happened to you wasn’t real or important.” To view the rest of this article, visit newswire.newscoop.pro.