By Marrissa Ballard | Staff Writer
(Trigger Warning: Mentions of sexual assault and rape.)
In the past couple of years, media outlets began to publish more articles about sexual assault on college campuses. Many of the articles focused on how universities handle this issue. A recent documentary, The Hunting Ground, covered several cases where universities handled sexual assault poorly or discouraged victims from reporting.
With all these articles and documentaries depicting universities in a negative light, students might be wondering what their own universities are doing about such a pervasive problem.
Malcolm Smith, the Dean of students at Salve, has taken many steps to improve upon the sexual misconduct policy on campus.
If sexual assault occurs on Salve’s campus, there are many ways of dealing with the case. “We want to make sure that victims and survivors have options, not mandates,” Smith stated.
If an individual decides to report the assault, which is highly encouraged by the university, they can do so with Dean Smith, Jennifer Jensen, Safety and Security, Counseling Services, Health Services, or with a Title IX Coordinator. The Health and Counseling centers will take anonymous reports, but may need to break confidentiality if the case involves imminent harm or danger to the victim or Salve’s community.
“No matter how it’s reported to the university, we would always encourage the victim to consider the possibilities of using the Newport police and the hospital,” Smith stated. “That is always part of the process.”
After the individual reports, it is up to them whether they want to pursue charges or an investigation. Someone from Smith’s office or the Title IX Coordinator will reach out to the student and offer different services and options.
Salve’s policy is victim-centric, meaning that the victim is in the “driver’s seat,” according to Smith. If the student wants to share their story, it is completely their choice. Sharing their story will not automatically launch an investigation.
However, the university also follows a certain criteria to discern what the best response is. This process is shortened to an acronym – “PPVT,” according to Smith.
PPVT stands for four questions: “Is it pervasive? Is there a pattern? Was there violence? Were there threats?” Smith explained. “If any of those things are present, we can’t always let the victim drive the ship.” If the university feels that the perpetrator is dangerous or a repeat offender, the university will pursue a charge. If the victim does not want to be a part of the process, they are not required to.
From Smith’s perspective, the best case scenario would be if a student decided to report, explain their story, and then pursue an investigation. Smith believes that this would be the best way of dealing with the case and making the campus safer.
If the student does decide to participate in an investigation, the university would call them in and record their story. They would then also call in the alleged perpetrator to get both sides of the story. If there were witnesses involved, they would be called in as well.
“Our process does not require the victim to face the perpetrator in any circumstance,” Smith stated. The perpetrator and victim are always kept in separate offices, and there is never a hearing where they have to be in the same room. Because of this, the university also has to share the stories of the victim with the perpetrator, and vice versa.
Once the university has heard and investigated the case, they make a decision. If the case meets the standard of proof, the university will move on to sanctioning the perpetrator.
Depending on the specifics of the case, Smith decides whether or not to remove the perpetrator from Salve during the investigation. If the perpetrator was accused of rape, they will likely be removed from campus, according to Smith.
“If we believe that the perpetrator was likely to repeat or harm the victim, we might remove them from campus during the investigation,” Smith stated. “If there was a case where I was on the border, I would err on the side of removal.”
If the perpetrator is not moved from campus and the victim and the perpetrator are in the same classes or the same residence hall, the perpetrator’s schedule and living arrangements may be altered.
The university will then complete an investigation, which usually takes a few weeks or less, according to Smith. If the university believes that there is an on-going threat, then the University will send out a timely warning to the entire Salve community.
“We used to have one investigator, but now this year I’ve had ten people trained to investigate,” Smith explained. Together, the investigators will create a report. The perpetrator and the victim both have chances to rebut against anything in the report, and notes are made. When the report is finished, it is given to the adjudicator – Dean Smith.
Smith will then read the report, talk to anyone he needs to, and then decide on an outcome. He then delivers the outcome to the perpetrator, and informs the victim as well.
Both the victim and the perpetrator can appeal the decision, according to three criteria: if they believe there was a procedural error that would have changed the outcome; if there is new evidence that was not available during the investigation; or if the sanction is inappropriate for the action. Once the appeal is settled by an appeals board, the decision is final.
“During the appeals process, if my decision was to suspend or expel the individual from the university, that decision is upheld until overturned,” Smith stated. “It is my belief, that if our process works, we should uphold our decision until someone says otherwise.”
All of the cases are dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Smith often makes decisions with the severity of the case in mind. According to Smith, if there is a proven case of non-consensual intercourse, the perpetrator will most likely be expelled. Smith’s main priority in deciding cases is the safety of not only the victim, but of the entire Salve community.
For more information about Salve’s misconduct policy, click here.
