Many colleges have tried to find ways to handle cases of rape and sexual violence on their respective campuses to make campus life safer for students. However, the way colleges and universities handle cases of sexual violence and rape can differ tremendously.
According to the SUNY Oswego Clery Report for 2012, 2013 and 2014, 10 on-campus sex offenses have been reported. SUNY Oswego focuses its response of sexual violence and rape on the victim.
“The victim survivor really drives the process,” said Title IX Coordinator Lisa Evaneski. “They get to decide what they want to happen,” she added.
When a case of rape is reported in SUNY Oswego, there is no single way to handle the case. Evaneski said each case varies.
According to Evaneski, victims also are not forced to report an assault to University Police. They are given the option to press charges against their accuser where the Student Conduct Office will handle the matter by conducting a hearing, or they have the option of leaving the assault unreported. In instances where an assault is unreported and Evaneski is presented with the case, she tries to find help for the victim.
“I would reach out to the person and offer them a meeting to see what do they need right now,” Evaneski said. “Do they need medical care, do they need counseling, do they need help in their classes?”
When a rape is reported and the student agrees to bring the case to the Student Conduct Office, the Assistant Dean of Students Becky Nadzadi conducts an investigation. After the investigation, Nadzadi meets with the accused to explain to them the entire hearing process.
According to Nadzadi, the accused is made aware of how many witnesses they may have and how to properly represent themselves in the hearing. The victim/reporting party, on the other hand, has the option of representing themselves or having a trained conduct officer represent them.
Arrangements are made for both the reporting party and the accused to feel comfortable through the duration of the entire process.
“We make provisions for both parties,” Nadzadi said. “If they don’t want to see each other, we put screens up. If there’s orders of protections out and they can’t be in the same room with each other, we put them in different rooms. They also are not allowed to directly speak to each other.”
The hearings are assessed by hearing officers. These officers, according to Nadzadi, range from faculty to students. The hearing board is specifically trained for these types of cases.
“The hearing board is a tough job,” Nadzadi said. “Sometimes one party feels like they had consent while the other party feels like no consent was given.
“Sometimes there isn’t enough evidence to move forward and declare someone responsible. It’s very hard.”
According to Nadzadi, SUNY Oswego’s minimum punishment for sexual assault and rape is suspension and the maximum is expulsion where the accused is never allowed to step foot on the SUNY Oswego campus again. Sexual harassment, however, is treated more lightly but still is punishable by the accused being put on disciplinary probation.
The statistics for the number of hearings SUNY Oswego handles for cases of rape and sexual violence are unavailable for the sake of confidentiality and protection of the victims. Nadzadi said they do not want to reduce the victims to just a number. Nadzadi did however say that numbers of reports have gone up in more recent years because of the presence of a Title IX coordinator on every SUNY college campus.
Resident Assistants are also trained in handling cases of sexual assault.
“If a resident comes to me and says they have been sexually assaulted, since I am a mandated reporter, I have to tell my Residence Hall Director who then contacts Lisa Evaneski,” Resident Assistant for Seneca Hall Roger Greenidge said. “The victim is not forced to press charges and as an R.A., I’m not allowed to insist that University Police is called.”
According to Greenidge, resident assistants go through very informative training on how to handle a resident revealing he or she have been sexually assaulted and also bystander intervention training which involves helping to prevent sexual assault from occurring.
SUNY Oswego offers many resources to help students who are victims of sexual violence and rape. Some of these resources include the Counseling Services Center, Services to Aid Families (SAF) and Two and a Half, a club dedicated to raising awareness about sexual violence.
These resources are readily available to victims and are recommended by Evaneski when she is helping a victim in the healing process.
Many steps have also been made in rape and sexual violence prevention. Every club and organization on the SUNY Oswego campus must have at least four members go through bystander intervention training in order to be recognized as an official club or organization. SUNY Oswego also implemented the It’s on Oz campaign which allows students to take a pledge to stand up against sexual violence and rape.