Editorial

Student disengagement with policy recommendations prevents real progress

By Editorial Staff

September 11, 2014

Recently, officials at Hamilton College announced several changes to the way in which the College handles incidents involving sexual assault.  As detailed in The Spectator’s cover story, the changes were sparked by both new federal regulations as well as by an institutional desire to craft a more effective and just sexual assault policy. 

Aside from the legally mandated adjustments, the College’s modifications represent a proactive effort to ensure that allegations of sexual assault are taken seriously at Hamilton College.  At a time when many of our peer institutions are being investigated for their failure to deal appropriately with such horrific incidents, we can take pride in the fact that our school is striving to better its already reputable procedures in dealing with the issue. 

Hamilton has been on the front lines against sexual assault.  It has been diligent in not only collecting the most recent data surrounding sexual assault, but it has also analyzed that data and made policy changes accordingly. Aside from bureaucratic steps taken to deal with issues surrounding sexual assault, there are many faculty and staff members who are passionate about this issue, and we should be appreciative of their individual and collective efforts. 

We at The Spectator commend the Title IX Task Force for working to eliminate redundancies that placed undue burden on victims of sexual assault, as well as for going above and beyond simply meeting the required legal standard by finding and implementing proven policy measures. We also urge school officials to continue both to explore ways in which we can strengthen the policy even further in addition to educating students on this important matter. While dealing with the subject is critical, preventing these events from happening in the first place should be just as important. 

One thing that can be further improved, however, is student involvement when it comes to creating a campus culture that does not tolerate sexaul assault.  While there is already a dedicated contingent of students who have worked very hard with the school to build a strong sexual assault policy, not enough students are involved.  This is an especially important aspect to consider given that students will no longer be able to sit on the Harassment and Sexual Misconduct Board.  As reported, just about 10 students attended Friday’s community forum detailing the changes to the sexual harassment policy.  As a student body, we need to be actively engaged with the school on this topic, reporting incidences as we see fit as well as working with the administration to make sexual assault policy even sounder. 

Sexual assault is a disgusting and often times violent act.  We must stand up to it, and continue to say, “Not at My Hamilton!”

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