Campus Sexual Assaults Reported Under Clery Act

There are no "guilty" or "not guilty" verdicts that result from Boston College campus disciplinary cases on sexual assault charges. A student tried before the Administrative Hearing Board is either found "responsible" or "not responsible." But even then, justice for survivors of rape and other sexual offenses can be elusive.

From 2006 to 2008, there were a total of 30 sexual assault cases that were reported by the University as required under the Clery Act, originally known as the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act. However, a recent report by the U.S. Department of Justice says that roughly one in five women attending college will be the victim of a sexual assault by the time that she graduates.

Nationally, the overwhelming majority of sexual assault victims don't even realize their circumstance, according to Sheila McMahon, director of the Women's Resource Center (WRC) at BC. Those who do recognize the situation are often afraid of coming forward, she said.

"I absolutely sympathize with students who are afraid to come forward," McMahon said. "I know it's very hard when you feel that your social life on campus is going to be interrupted or ruined by coming forward to report a sexual assault." Nationally, just 11.8 percent of women who are sexually assaulted recognize their situation and label it as a sexual assault, she said.

At BC, the majority of those who do come forward and report sexual assaults choose to pursue justice by way of the University disciplinary system rather than the courts. However, Paul Chebator, senior associate dean in the Office of the Dean for Student Development (ODSD) attributed that to the difficulties posed by the criminal justice system.

"I would say that more choose to go internally than externally because, externally, it's an extraordinarily difficult process, and it's a lengthy process," Chebator said, adding that disciplinary hearings on sexual assaults that are conducted through the ODSD are often concluded within weeks. "It's [the Administrative Hearing Board]  not a court of law – it does not use criminal standards. It's really to determine what happened and did what happen violate the University's policies."

For the Administrative Hearing Board,  judges are drawn from a pool of 25 trained members of the University's faculty and administrators. When a student reports a sexual assault to the BC Police Department (BCPD) or to ODSD, the victim has complete discretion over whether the case is tried through the criminal justice system, the University, neither, or both. When the board hears a case, it rules the accused to be either responsible or not responsible, and recommends sanctions in the case of a responsible verdict. However, Chebator said that it is not a perfect process.

"One of the difficulties is, most of the types of cases that we deal with becomes one person's word against the other," Chebator said. "There has to be enough evidence for the board to make the determination that a student is responsible."

Typically, when the accused is found responsible for rape, they are either suspended or expelled from the University, Chebator said. Suspensions often last until the victim has graduated or is no longer at BC.

Margaret Connolly, BCPD captain, said that a lack of conversation is to blame for the prevalence of sexual assaults on college campuses – particularly those that go unreported.

"As much as we would love to be able to have floor meetings with people so that we could have dialogue and people could ask those questions, I think that the nature of intimacy and sexual activity is something that people don't talk about," Connolly said. "I'm not saying it's a contract, but it should be at least a conversation."

Connolly also said the hook-up culture at BC has a role in creating an environment of causal, and oftentimes, drug or alcohol-influenced situations between two students.

"If your intent is to go out and have a good time with someone, it's, ‘I'm going to go out and get hammered, and I'm going to see where I can score tonight.' That's malicious," she said. "There's nothing healthy about that."

In order to help facilitate more healthy conversation and, ultimately, to help prevent sexual assaults altogether, the BCPD, ODSD, and WRC all strive to create a safer environment for students.

Once a sexual assault is reported to the BCPD, the appropriate District Attorney's office is immediately notified of the investigation, after which the victim is advised of his or her options.

"That's just so we can say to [the victim] that there is someone who you can go and talk to," Connolly said. "It doesn't mean you're going to prosecute it, but it means that you can hear about your options. We give them the option of going to the Dean of Students' Office and speaking with an advocate up there, and then they can make the decision which avenue they want to take."

All incoming freshmen are required to participate in the BC Safe Program, a component of which is devoted to conversations about sexual assault. Additionally, the University piloted a bystander education program this year, that is aimed at teaching students how to recognize and interrupt situations where a friend could be in a potentially tough spot.

"Ninety percent of people who are sexual assault survivors know their perpetrators before their assault, even if it's that they're a friend of a friend, or an acquaintance from a party," McMahon said. "Bystanders are people who can make choices independent of the dynamic between these two people, to intervene in ways that keep themselves safe but that prevent the situation from escalating to a sexual assault."

In addition, events such as Concerned About Rape Education (C.A.R.E.) Week, which is being held through the end of this week, work at increasing awareness for the resources available to victims of sexual assaults.