University President Henry Bienen on Tuesday approved seven changes to the University Sexual Assault Hearing and Appeals System, including allowing drug and alcohol use to be considered an “aggravating factor” in assaults.
The new guidelines also make it easier for the board to remove a student from university housing and forbid him or her from entering dining halls or holding work-study positions during appeals. Previously, the university’s vice president for student affairs had sole power in these areas.
University officials decided to review SAHAS during Spring Quarter after a controversy arose when a student unanimously found by SAHAS to have sexually assaulted another student was allowed to remain in his dorm during his appeal and eventually was suspended for one year.
Members of the review committee – which included students, faculty and staff members – said they were satisfied that Bienen chose to accept all of their recommended changes.
“I do think the committee succeeded in fixing some of the problems with the system,” said Katy Quissell, a review committee member and Women’s Coalition executive adviser. “I’m just thrilled that President Bienen passed this, and I think it’s going to be very beneficial for the campus.”
Bienen was unavailable for further comment.
The change to make drugs or alcohol an “aggravating factor” encourages students to still take a case to SAHAS if substances are involved, said Quissell, a Weinberg senior.
“It’s definitely directed toward the survivor,” she said. “We wanted it to be stated in the bylaws that if drugs or alcohol happen to be a part of their situation, they definitely still have a case.”
The change also better defines how to consider drugs and alcohol in each case, said Margo Brown, chairwoman of the committee that submitted the proposed changes to Bienen.
“Before, the board could consider (alcohol) in any way they wanted to,” said Brown, assistant to the vice president for student affairs. “Now a student can’t say to the board, ‘I was drunk and I didn’t know what I was doing.'”
Students will also be provided the option to remove a committee member if they think that member is biased.
“If a student comes before the board and felt someone on the board could not be fair, you could require that person to step down,” Brown said. “It’d have to be a valid reason, but you’d be benefited by a board that would be more fair.”
The committee also must now keep confidential records of students’ names for five years and allow the board to consider whether a student has a history of sexual assault. If accused students apply to graduate school, they can sign a waiver allowing schools to have access to their SAHAS records, Brown said.
Although SAHAS only hears an average of one case per year, the cases it does consider often become sources of debate on campus, Brown said.
The Spring Quarter incident prompted some students to call for mandatory sentencing of people accused of sexual assault, but the review committee became concerned that such sentencing would violate students’ due process rights, Brown said. Ultimately the committee chose not to recommend mandatory sentencing to Bienen.
“The committee decided that each case should be heard on its own merits,” Brown said. “There is nothing set in stone. We cannot have a system that does not abide by due process.”
The revised guidelines expand students’ due process rights and align SAHAS policies with the University Hearing and Appeals System, Brown said.
The word “guilty” will be removed from SAHAS language, a move designed to distinguish the process from a legal proceeding. The guidelines now say a student has been “found to have violated university rules.”
“The biggest outcome was that a consensus was reached by all the members of the committee,” Brown said. “The system as it stands is one of the best in the country and did not need major changes.”
SAHAS did not need a complete overhaul, said William Banis, interim vice president for student affairs.
“The proposals strengthen an already-strong set of guidelines,” he said. “Northwestern already has one of the best structures in the country. This makes it even stronger.”
While Quissell agreed NU’s system is much stronger than most schools’, she said it ultimately comes down to the board members who make the decisions and to the people who use the system.
She said it is frustrating to find that many students do not even know SAHAS exists, let alone how it functions.
Women’s Co hopes to promote SAHAS and the changes to the system during its upcoming February events, which include a performance of “The Vagina Monologues” and a “V-Day” celebration, Quissell said. She said she also hopes to link a student guide to SAHAS from NU’s Web site.
“What it comes down to is educating people, making sure people understand the system,” she said. “That’s a lot more complicated than fixing the bylaws – that was the easy part.”
