by Rebecca Arrowsmith, contributor
Last week, the U.S. Department of Education released a list of 55 colleges in a Title IX investigation over sexual assault complaints. Schools under the Title IX investigation are accused of leniencies within the Jeanne Clary Act — a federal law providing the date, time, location and nature of campus crimes as public record — for the sake of reputation. Emory University is on the Title IX investigation list.
The Title IX investigations may lead to more openness on sexual crimes at colleges and universities. Subsequently, clarity could obligate institutions to better recognize and prevent future sex crimes. However, many assaults can go unreported because victims wish to remain anonymous. According to a New York Times article, the U.S. task force suggests college students take “standardized, anonymous surveys” regarding on-campus assaults.
Sexual assault can occur anywhere on a school’s property and once reported, it’s listed as a campus crime. This can give centralized college campuses a reason to be on the list, but SCAD isn’t a centralized campus.
In Atlanta and Savannah, the academic buildings are interspersed throughout the cities and the Jeanne Clary Act’s intention is affected. Schools typically won’t recognize a student reporting an assault that doesn’t technically occur “on-campus.” Sexual assault that occurs around SCAD property may not technically be an “on-campus” crime.
SCAD Security states “84 percent of victims know their attacker” and reporting sexual crime often comes down to an issue of consensus. Keep basic precautions in mind, make sure to “clearly give or deny consent” and if an assault occurs, contact SCAD’s counseling and student support services.