The Crimson Staff

This week's rape and assault allegations against Kirkland House sophomore Joshua M. Elster have shocked the Harvard community. Whether or not the allegations prove true, Elster's arrest has served as a catalyst for overdue discussions about the prevalence of rape and date rape on campus and it has exposed the University's ability--whether intentional or not--to suppress sensitive, yet public information. Perhaps this unfortunate incident will force the administration to finally realize its responsibility to its students.

Many facts of this case are confusing and unknown, yet some wrongdoing on the part of the University is all too clear. The Harvard University Police Department (HUPD), has broken the law, either deliberately or through extreme negligence.

The report of the incident and Elster's arrest did not appear in the HUPD blotter and the relevant incident numbers were skipped. HUPD claims the reports were misrecorded in the blotter, a record that is public for the sake of student safety. For breaking the law--and its trust with the student body--the HUPD should be investigated by state authorities.

The University has also been negligent in its silence. Kirkland House did not hold a meeting after students saw Elster arrested Saturday afternoon. House administrators should have, at the very least, made an effort to quell rumors about the incident by giving its students the facts of the situation. The University's closed-mouth policy has only encouraged further gossip and confusion, rather than providing information and support.

Regardless of the outcome of this case, students should be armed with the knowledge of how to protect themselves and report crimes and how to prevent date rape from occurring. "[If Elster is guilty], this is not an isolated incident," a staffer of Response, a peer counseling group, told The Crimson Tuesday night. According to a study conducted in 1995 by the Center for Disease Control and reported in the Journal of the American College Health Association, 13.1 percent of college students surveyed had ever been forced to have sexual intercourse against their will.

The College should mount an awareness campaign about rape on campus and, like many other colleges, hold mandatory information sessions on date rape for all students. Harvard must also provide more highly-publicized, supportive counseling for victims.

Information on rape and date rape prevention and awareness is available at the Center for Wellness and Health Communication, located on the second floor of University Health Services. The Center's phone number is 495-9629 and it is open between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.