College students have options in dealing with rape accusations

She was 18 and a freshman at Midland Lutheran College when another student sexually assaulted her at an off-campus party.

Eventually, she confided in some close friends, then family members, medical personnel and law enforcement officers. Because she'd heard horror stories about lengthy court cases which didn't turn out well, she chose not to press charges against the offender.

But she had another option.

Aware of Midland's system of disciplinary review, she went to the dean of students and told her what occurred in the early hours of March 2, 2002.

What happens when college students report sexual assaults to school officials depends somewhat on individual policies and whether or not the alleged victim and perpetrator both are students.

One thing is certain.

All public and private colleges and universities participating in federal student aid programs must notify victims of their option to report their assault to law enforcement authorities.

That's just part of the federal law known as the 1992 Campus Sexual Assault Victims' Bill of Rights.

Other facets include allowing the accused and the accuser the same opportunities: to have others present at disciplinary hearings; to be informed of the outcome of any disciplinary hearing; to be notified of counseling services; and to be notified of options for changing academic and living situations.

Schools found in violation of this law can be fined up to $25,000 or lose their eligibility to participate in federal student aid programs.

A recent look into the student handbooks of three area institutions - Wayne State College, Dana College and Midland - revealed all three schools advise students to contact law enforcement concerning any sexual assault. But ultimately, all reports of crimes occurring on campus, on off-campus property owned by the institution or on contiguous public property must be reported to the U.S. Department of Education by the college itself.

This filing is in accordance with the 1990 Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. Named for an 18-year-old Lehigh University student who was raped and murdered in her dorm room in 1986, the law came about after Clery's parents learned school officials failed to report 38 violent crimes on the Lehigh campus in the three years prior to their daughter's death.

While Wayne State and Dana both reported numerous on-campus arrests for liquor and/or drug law violations between 1999 and 2001, neither reported any on-campus sexual assault arrests during that same time period.

Midland logged a single on-campus arrest - for a drug law violation - in 1999, and two reports of on-campus criminal sex offenses, one in 1999 and the other in 2001.

Midland dean of students Nicki McIntyre, citing the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, declined to comment specifically on any case, but said the college handles all such reports strictly by policy outlined in the disciplinary review handbook.

Although Wayne State previously reported no sexual assaults, Jeff Carstens, associate dean of students, said one student did contact Wayne police and the Nebraska State Patrol about an on-campus assault in 2002. No charges were filed in the case.

Carstens called sexual assault "a reality of life."

"It happens in every community," he said. "It's something we report, along with every institution. Wayne State College isn't immune from crime, including violent crime."

But the actual number of sexual assaults, including those involving college students, is difficult to determine. According to a 1999 report from the Nebraska Domestic Violence Sexual Assault Coalition, only 16 percent of the nation's rape victims ever notify police.

Those who do often refuse to press charges, fearing public humiliation, the trauma of an investigation or reprisal by the offender.

However, when students assault other students, victims sometimes turn to school officials for help in disciplining offenders. In anticipation of such requests, the Campus Sexual Assault Victims' Bill of Rights requires colleges and universities to have policies outlining procedures for campus disciplinary action.

Officials at all three area schools said grievances of less serious natures may be addressed at lower levels, perhaps through a residence hall review board or student senate hearing, but the dean of students invariably addresses accusations of rape.

In the case of the report filed by the Midland freshman, McIntyre reviewed evidence presented by both students before sending the information to a third-level review board made up of two tenured faculty members, two vice presidents from student senate, one administrative vice president and a registrar.

McIntyre said none of the board members receive formal training in dealing with assault victims.

The board met March 18, 2002, and heard testimony from the male student and several witnesses. The female student chose not to attend the hearing but addressed the board through a written statement.

In a March 19 letter to McIntyre, the board reported it found the male student had committed the assault, and recommended he be placed on social probation through the school's 2003 interterm.

He was asked to refrain from participating in Midland events, such as athletics, music, theater or any Greek organization, and to get a medical evaluation for sexually transmitted diseases, and counseling regarding date rape behavior and appropriate sexual behaviors.

The board also recommended the victim receive emotional and alcohol counseling, and that McIntyre refer tenants of the two apartments in the house where the assault took place for prosecution for serving alcohol to minors.

In a formal statement released Feb. 25, Midland reported, in all instances, "sanctions imposed on students by a review board as a result of violation of policy have been monitored by college officials and completed by the student(s) involved."

The statement did not specifically say whether McIntyre had referred the apartment tenants, unidentified in the March 19 board letter, for prosecution. Without having those names, Dodge County Attorney Paul Vaughan said he could not determine whether the dean had indeed filed a complaint.

But a Midland student indirectly involved with the March 2002 case eventually filed her own written objection to the school's disciplinary policy - in the form of a guest column in the campus newspaper.

A sister of the victim, the senior human services major wrote, "It is easier for the college to allow, even encourage the victim to leave, instead of taking a stand and saying that this type of behavior is not to be tolerated at Midland Lutheran College."

When interviewed in February, the senior said her sister left Midland two weeks after the March hearing and now attends a university in another state.

She also said she had seen the offender on Midland's campus as recently as December, apparently still attending classes.

Addressing sexual assault

One in six women and one in 33 men have experienced a rape or attempted rape as a child or adult, according to a 1996 study by the National Institute of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control.

Today through Thursday, the Fremont Tribune will examine the crime of rape in the Fremont community, how it is addressed by city and county elected officials and law enforcement, and what area organizations are doing to help victims.

Today: How college campuses deal with reports of sexual assault.

Wednesday: What city police, elected officials and others have to say about the issue of sexual assault, the difficulty in proving cases and what victims can do to help themselves.

Thursday: Information from the Crisis Center for Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault on dealing with sexual assault. Also, a victim tells her story.