Date Rape Definition Approved

The Faculty Council approved a statement on rape and sexual assault on Wednesday, leaving one more hurdle in what has become a two-year effort to formulate a University policy on date-rape.

The full faculty will vote next Tuesday on the document, which largely favors the Undergraduate Council definition, but includes amendments by the Date Rape Task Force.

The statement defines rape as "any act of sexual intercourse that takes place against a person's will or that is accompanied by physical coercion or the threat of bodily injury."

According to the document, "unwillingness can be expressed verbally or physically, and rape also includes "intercourse with a person who is incapable of expressing unwillingness or is prevented from resisting, as a result of conditions including, but not limited to, those caused by the intake of alcohol or drugs."

The Faculty Council made only technical changes to the document on Wednesday in order to clarify the policy's language, professors said yesterday.

"There weren't any substantive changes," said Professor of Sociology Theda Skocpol. "The Faculty Council was concerned [because] we wanted to be sure that we are being clear on how rape is defined."

Malcolm A. Heinicke '93, the former Undergraduate Council chair who drafted the council's proposal, said he was glad to see the "culmination of a two-year process."

[The policy] is almost exactly how I handed it to [Dean of the College L. Fred] Jewett," Heinicke said.

Radcliffe Union of Students Co-Chair Maura H. Swan '94 said although she expected the decision to pass the Faculty Council, she thought many students wanted the definition to be more explicit to require the expressed consent of both parties.

"I believe that a partner's explicit 'yes' should be obtained before sexual intercourse," Swan said. "The University's policy should expect high standards of communication between students."

Heinicke, Swan and Faculty Council members said the document, which needs the approval of the full faculty to be implemented, is only one of a series of discussions on sexual misconduct that will continue in the future.

"Although the definition of date rape is critical," Heinecke said, it is only one facet of this whole issue."

"It's important to bring it to an interim closure," Skocpol said. "But codes of conduct evolve over time. This is an area where societal standards are evolving and hopefully we'll move towards a greater understanding over time.

Malcolm A. Heinicke '93, the former Undergraduate Council chair who drafted the council's proposal, said he was glad to see the "culmination of a two-year process."

[The policy] is almost exactly how I handed it to [Dean of the College L. Fred] Jewett," Heinicke said.

Radcliffe Union of Students Co-Chair Maura H. Swan '94 said although she expected the decision to pass the Faculty Council, she thought many students wanted the definition to be more explicit to require the expressed consent of both parties.

"I believe that a partner's explicit 'yes' should be obtained before sexual intercourse," Swan said. "The University's policy should expect high standards of communication between students."

Heinicke, Swan and Faculty Council members said the document, which needs the approval of the full faculty to be implemented, is only one of a series of discussions on sexual misconduct that will continue in the future.

"Although the definition of date rape is critical," Heinecke said, it is only one facet of this whole issue."

"It's important to bring it to an interim closure," Skocpol said. "But codes of conduct evolve over time. This is an area where societal standards are evolving and hopefully we'll move towards a greater understanding over time.