Debating Date Rape

Spurred on by student protest over the University's understanding of date rape, campus groups have responded with a wave of new definitions to guide the College in drafting a new policy.

Two different definitions were presented to College administrators after a year of discussion. yet, it remains unclear how the University will recouncile the divergent views and adopt a policy acceptable to all parties.

In February, the Date Rape Task Force--composed of faculty, students and administrators--defined date rape as sex "which occurs without the expressed consent of the person."

The long-awaited report also recommended that undergraduates participate in disciplinary proceedings in all so "peer dispute" cases.

Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57 expressed general support for the Task Force report, saying he had "no objection" to letting students participate in judging of date rape cases.

But Jewett insisted on barring students from other sensitive Ad Board cases and business.

In response to the Task Force report, the Undergraduate Council adopted a measure which defined date rape more narrowly, calling it intercourse despite the "expressed unwillingness of the victim."

"[Rape] is having sex with some one when they've said 'no' or physically expressed no...when no one [indicates] anything, it's not rape," says Vice Chair Malcolm A. Heinicke '93, who sponsored he measure.

The resolution was subsequently amended to to include a category called "sexual negligence." The intent of the new category is to punish non-consentual sex, while not treating it as rape, according to Effie K. Anagnostopoulous '92 who proposed the amendment.

The term encompasses acts in which the initiator "fails to elicit consent resulting in the physical or psychological harm of the victim."

But the Radcliffe Union of Students (RUS) questioned the council's right to set policy and its ability to define date rape. RUS threw its support behind the Task Force report's definition of date rape.

And of course, perennial pundit Professor of Law Alan M. Dershowitz threw in his two cents, branding the campus discourse on date rape as "amateurish"

"When you're drafting things like this, you need professionals," he told The Crimson last month. "[The discussion] bears all the hallmarks of enthusiastic amateurism."

Acquaintance rape reappeared on the campus political scene when The Crimson in fall 1990 reported a case in which a second-year law student allegedly raped an undergraduate woman sleeping in her dorm room.

Student outrage surfaced when The Crimson quoted Jewett saying that many date rape cases occur because of drunkenness and lack of communication.

Students responded with a postering campaign and a sit-in at University hall, prompting Jewett to establish the Task force in fall 1990. The Task Force, cochaired by Assistant Dean for Co-Education Janet A. Viggiani and RUS member Emily M. Tucker '93, examined the Ad Board's ability to decide on charges of rape.

Despite the different definitions of date rape, Viggiani insists that the burgeoning campus discourse on date rape has been "helpful in getting people to appreciate complexities and things they should pay attention to in their behavior."

But what measures the College will take to reconcile the different interpretations of date rape policy remain unclear.

Jewett, who only recently received the Undergraduate Council report, says he would encourage further debate next fall and ultimately present a list of proposals to the Faculty Council, a steering committee for the full faculty.

Jewett says major reforms such as the creation of a new student-faculty disciplinary body would required approval from the Faculty Council.

Since the University solely administers disciplinary policy and does not determine legal meanings, it can define rape as it wants to as long as it "doesn't contradict the law of the state," according to Viggiani.

Some say, however, the University is not equipped to handle cases of sexual assault or rape.

For example, the Undergraduate Council narrowly rejected a measure, 22-21, which would relegate date rape cases to the exclusive domain of criminal courts--and not the Ad Board.

Daniel H. Tabak '92, who sponsored the failed measure, says the University lacks experience, noting only six of 2685 ad Board cases have involved allegations of date rape.

"Harvard should let the court system do its job, while Harvard does its job," Tabak wrote in the resolution.

Annually, less than three persons have been charged with rape out of 10 to 15 cases of sexual assualt in recent years, according to Viggiani.

Viggiani says she encounters more cases which "usually [involve] physical violence and sexual molestation that fall short of rape."

But Anagnastopoulos insists that the Ad Board is qualified to handle date rape cases.

"The Ad Board may not be legal scholars, but they're adequate judges of behavior for the Harvard campus," she says. The Ad Board has the right to decide cases that occur within the institution."