I welcome Governor Cuomo’s leadership on the issue of sexual violence. We all need to do everything we can to prevent sexual assaults, to encourage reporting and support victims when assaults occur, to see that our processes are prompt and fair, and to protect our campus communities from assailants. I especially welcome the statewide public awareness campaign. We will do our best to amplify it within the University community.
Sexual assault has been a problem in society and on college campuses for a long time. That persistence calls for robust action rather than resignation. Governor Cuomo is showing the way. At the University of Rochester, we are regularly reviewing and strengthening our educational programs, policies and procedures related to sexual misconduct.
This summer, as part of a larger effort to make our sexual misconduct policies and procedures more transparent to our student body, we adopted a policy of affirmative consent that closely matches the proposed SUNY language. In furtherance of our goal of transparency we also now provide a letter to every student who complains of sexual misconduct outlining their rights and options for support and adjudication within and without the University. Our educational programs for first year students teach skills necessary to safely intervene in situations that could lead to sexual misconduct. When an assault occurs, specially trained administrators and investigators respond following newly adopted protocols that ensure that the information is kept confidential. As has been the case for several years, a student is not charged with a drug or alcohol violation in connection with their report of sexual misconduct. We regularly survey our campus population on health topics, including questions related to sexual misconduct and are actively considering what may be the optimal way to do this.
The stubborn persistence of sexual violence shows that we should continue to improve our efforts. I particularly want to thank Governor Cuomo for his leadership on this critical issue.