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SUNY colleges in Potsdam, Canton adopt sexual assault prevention, response police

Posted 12/3/14

New York’s SUNY colleges, including those in Canton and Potsdam, have adopted a uniform sexual assault prevention and response policy for SUNY campuses. The policy, which applies to more than …

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SUNY colleges in Potsdam, Canton adopt sexual assault prevention, response police

Posted

New York’s SUNY colleges, including those in Canton and Potsdam, have adopted a uniform sexual assault prevention and response policy for SUNY campuses.

The policy, which applies to more than 463,000 students attending all SUNY colleges and universities, was given to each campus president and chief student affairs officers for implementation.

The policy was drafted over the past two months in consultation with SUNY leadership and working groups of internal and external stakeholders.

SUNY Potsdam President Kristin G. Esterberg said, “The SUNY Potsdam community is very proud of Governor Cuomo's announcement today that the State University of New York has established its first comprehensive statewide policy to combat college sexual assault. I am so honored to have been asked to serve on the working group alongside SUNY Potsdam senior Ryan Minsker, one of many Potsdam students who have stepped up to raise awareness about campus sexual assault. Student leadership and engagement will continue to be essential to implementation of these groundbreaking measures on every campus throughout the SUNY System.”

All first-year and transfer SUNY students will be informed of the sexual assault policy, key points of the policy include:

• Uniform Definition of Consent: The policy includes a system-wide, uniform adoption to define affirmative consent as a clear, unambiguous, and voluntary agreement between the participants to engage in specific sexual activity. The uniform definition is as follows:

“Affirmative consent is a clear, unambiguous, knowing, informed, and voluntary agreement between all participants to engage in sexual activity. Consent is active, not passive. Silence or lack of resistance cannot be interpreted as consent. Seeking and having consent accepted is the responsibility of the person(s) initiating each specific sexual act regardless of whether the person initiating the act is under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Consent to any sexual act or prior consensual sexual activity between or with any party does not constitute consent to any other sexual act. The definition of consent does not vary based upon a participant’s sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Consent may be initially given but withdrawn at any time. When consent is withdrawn or cannot be given, sexual activity must stop. Consent cannot be given when a person is incapacitated. Incapacitation occurs when an individual lacks the ability to fully, knowingly choose to participate in sexual activity. Incapacitation includes impairment due to drugs or alcohol (whether such use is voluntary or involuntary), the lack of consciousness or being asleep, being involuntarily restrained, if any of the parties are under the age of 17, or if an individual otherwise cannot consent. Consent cannot be given when it is the result of any coercion, intimidation, force, or threat of harm.”

• Uniform Amnesty Policy to Encourage Reporting: Students reporting incidents of sexual assault or other sexual violence are granted immunity for drug and alcohol use violations.

• Comprehensive Statewide Training for Campus Police and College Administrators: SUNY, working with the State, will conduct statewide coordinated training with all SUNY campuses, including training by SUNY Police and State Police for campus security on best practices for campus security plans and victim sensitivity, as well as training by SUNY attorneys for college administrators and adjudicators on preventing and addressing sexual violence and how to improve compliance with existing federal laws. All SUNY campuses will also institute uniform training for students at all new student orientations. SUNY Police will begin training all campus police and public safety officers this month.

• Statewide Public Awareness Campaign: SUNY will undertake a statewide public awareness campaign, coordinated with the State, to increase awareness among college students, high school students, and parents of individual safety and prevention techniques as well as the importance of bystander intervention in any unsafe situation.

• Uniform Confidentiality and Reporting Protocol for All SUNY Campuses: To ensure all colleges are following best practices and the same set of standards and protocols are in place on each campus, all SUNY campuses will implement a uniform system-wide Confidentiality and Reporting Protocol. The uniform Confidentiality and Reporting Protocol encourages the prompt and accurate reporting of acts of sexual assault, helps the campus community to quickly respond to allegations of sexual assault, and ensures that students have timely and accurate information about available confidential resources.

• Uniform Campus Climate Assessments: All SUNY campuses will conduct campus climate assessments in order to gauge the prevalence of sexual assault on campus, test students’ attitudes and awareness of the issue, and provide colleges/universities with information to help them form solutions for addressing and preventing sexual assault on and off campus.

The SUNY sexual assault policy also creates a Sexual Violence Victim/Survivor Bill of Rights that specifically informs victims of sexual assault of their right to report sexual assault to local, campus or State law enforcement. SUNY policy also outlines how to access campus-specific victim resources, including obtaining a restraining/no contact order and counseling, health, legal and support services. All students will be notified of the Bill of Rights by or before the new term in January 2015. The Sexual Violence Victim/Survivor Bill of Rights includes the right to:

• Have disclosures of sexual violence treated seriously.

• Make a decision about whether or not to disclose a crime or incident and participate in the conduct or criminal justice process free from outside pressures from college officials.

• Be treated with dignity and to receive from college officials courteous, fair and respectful health care and counseling services.

• Be free from any suggestion that the victim/survivor is at fault when these crimes and violations are committed, or should have acted in a different manner to avoid such a crime.

• Describe the incident to as few individuals as practicable and not to be required to repeat unnecessarily a description of the incident.

• Be free from retaliation by the college, the accused, and/or their friends, family and acquaintances.

• Exercise civil rights and practice your religion without interference by the investigative, criminal justice or conduct process of the college.

In addition to announcing the policy, the Governor also today launched a new website that provides important information regarding sexual assault prevention and response on college campuses in a user-friendly format for students, parents, administrators and law enforcement.

Specifically, the website provides resources for students to learn how they can protect themselves and seek help when necessary, and access data regarding all sexual assault and violent crimes reported on all college campuses that operate in the State of New York. The data is reported to the United States Department of Education. The website can be accessed at http://www.campuscrime.ny.gov.