In line with the new school year, Gustavus’s Policy Against Sexual Assault has undergone changes to meet the current federal requirements and to fall in line with national best practices.

After recent review by Assistant Dean of Students and Student Conduct Coordinator Peter Meagher, the previous Policy Against Sexual Assault has been revised to meet Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and to address sexual assault cases in a thorough, impartial investigatory process.

“The original policy was fairly brief and sparse in a somewhat dated definition of sexual assault,” Meagher said. “It did not do a good job of outlining how a case could be brought forward if an incident is brought to the college, how that would happen and what a student might do about it.”

The new policy lays out a clear and concise definition of sexual misconduct and builds in a robust investigatory process to address a case with trained investigators, all of whom are faculty and staff who have volunteered to go through ten hours of training.

“Outlining the policy more clearly will hopefully be a key educational piece to help students understand not only the definitions of sexual misconduct but to help them realize that there are ramifications for them as a student at Gustavus,” Director of Human Resources and Title IX Coordinator Kirk Beyer said. “In the case that a student experiences sexual misconduct, we hope that they will be more forthcoming and let us know what’s going on so that we can help them with different counseling services and with pursuing a complaint if they want to lodge one against someone.”

One of the catalysts for the changes included a publication known as the “Dear Colleague Letter” by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) on April 5, 2011, which encouraged schools to review their policies and practices to be up to date with the letter and Title IX education amendment. This got the attention of many colleges and universities across the country, including Gustavus.

“The ‘Dear Colleague Letter’ was brought about by a couple institutions that took an extended time of investigation of student claim of student assault,” Beyer said. “It was sent out to clarify and better outline expectations. That prompted us to look at our policies to see if we could do a better job at Gustavus so that students could be better informed.”

With the new adjustments, the hope is that the process for sexual assault claims would be more investigatory and thorough, with responsibilities being taken care of by immediate and effective steps.

“In the past, if a student was in violation of our misconduct policy, the whole thing would have been discussed by a board,” Dean of Student JoNes VanHecke said. “The matter rested more on the students involved—the victim and the accused. Not just at Gustavus but at many other colleges, these kinds of board hearings are emotionally difficult, especially for victim survivors.”

This new process, considered best practice, seeks to find out the truth of events occurring in sexual assault claims while creating a more sensitive environment for the survivor.

“In the new system, two investigators talk to the survivor and find out everything they can learn from that person,” VanHecke said. “The investigators then talk to the accused and to anyone else that the victim might have named witnesses. These investigators come to a conclusion and officially relay what they think had happened. These events are then confirmed or rejected by the victim and the accused.”

The changes in sexual assault policy are only concerned with how matters are investigated and how it is adjudicated. Though there are new efforts to educate everyone in the reporting of sexual assault, the crucial piece is that students have access to resources.

“Gustavus ultimately wants students to get the help and information needed in these cases,” VanHecke said. “We want students to be able to contact the right people, gather support, and get counseling. We’re worried about their emotional well-being as well as getting them options for redress. My hope is that the new model makes students feel more comfortable in using the new conduct process.”