ARTS Page 19
FORUM Overcome partisan division 12 SPORTS Judges play at UAA Round Robin 14 The Independent Student Newspaper
the
AWAKEN ART of
B r a n d e is U n i v e r sit y S i n c e 1 9 4 9
Justice
Volume LXVII, Number 8
www.thejustice.org
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
CELEBRATING VICTORY
Waltham, Mass.
IN-DEPTH REPORT
Sexual assault activism traced ■ The history of activism
to improve protocol at the University can be followed from the early 1980s. By MARISSA DITKOWSKY JUSTICE EDITOR
As attention has been building around campus protests and recent cases that have put the spotlight on University policies and practices, Brandeis has worked to improve its grievance process, has hired a sexual assault and prevention specialist and is in the process of finalizing its rape crisis center. These changes, however, have been implemented after almost 30 years of advocacy on behalf of students, staff and faculty for better policies, procedures and resources. Advocacy for victim protections and improved policies has been active since the 1970s, after the Education Amendments of 1972 incorporated Title IX. In the 1970s, a section in Brandeis’ student handbook—which was a precursor to the Rights and Responsibilities handbook that is given to students today—noted the existence of Title IX and provided an affirmative ac-
ABIGAIL ROTHSTEIN/the Justice
Forward Tyler Savonen ’15 (left) is mobbed by forward Zach Vieira ’17 (right) after netting a goal on a penalty kick against No. 9 Emory University. See page 16 for more coverage.
tion officer as a contact to file complaints about potential discrimination issues. The earliest signs of discourse about sexual harassment and assault at Brandeis came from Student Sexuality Information Service, which first appeared in the 1976 student handbook. The service was described as a source for peer counseling on relations, birth control, abortion, sexual identity, sexually transmitted diseases, rape, incest, sexual health, harassment and sexual dysfunction, according to the handbook. Although sexual assault was not its primary focus, it was a topic for which SSIS provided counseling. In the same year, a Title IX officer was employed and is mentioned in an Oct. 5, 1976 Justice article. At that time, though, the primary staff member involved in sexual harassment policies appears to have been the affirmative action officer, as shown by the officer’s role in Title IX complaints and harassment grievance procedures. The first clear action taken to implement a policy to formally discipline sexual harassment can be traced back to a Women’s Stud-
See TITLE IX, 7 ☛
STUDENT LIFE
Six female students receive threats from male student ■ One of the female
students said that she barely knew the male student who threatened her. By MARISSA DITKOWSKY JUSTICE EDITOR
Six female students received threats from a male student after allegedly rejecting his advances. One of the female students who wishes to remain anonymous due to personal safety concerns, said that she does not know whether or not the male student will be returning to campus in the future, though a no-trespass order against
the male student remains in effect. On Sept. 16, Director of Public Safety Edward Callahan sent out an email to the Brandeis community advising students of the incident. According to the email, the University has been in touch with the students who were threatened, both “to explain how we are responding to this information” and “to offer them our support.” According to the University Police’s report from the week of Sept. 22, which was obtained by the Justice, University Police interviewed the six female students with members of the Dean of Students office at 3 p.m. that day regarding potential threats made by a male student. The REPORT stated that
BRIEF BranVan hits female bicyclist; lifethreatening injuries not sustained A female bicyclist was hit by a BranVan at the intersection of Harvard and Main streets in Waltham at 7:20 p.m. on the night of Oct. 16, according to the Waltham Police Department. The victim was a 28-year-old female, according a detective of the Waltham Police Department in a phone interview with the Justice. The woman was riding her bicycle on the sidewalk west of Main Street when she was hit by a BranVan turning from Harvard Street onto Main Street. The Waltham Fire Department arrived on scene and extracted the victim who was pinned below the van, according to the Waltham Police Department. She was transported to a Boston-area hospital in
the threats were reported to the University by a third-party source. The anonymous student told the Justice that the threats were “unexpected.” “I really didn’t know him. I really didn’t have any connection with him. This was really out of the blue,” she said. The student said that she received a message from him—asking if she would like to go somewhere—which she said she ignored because she did not know him very well. She said that she was surprised to have been called to the dean’s office to be informed of this threat against her, given her limited interaction with the male student. “I think that’s the most scary
See THREAT, 7 ☛
—River Heisler
Assault prevention
Out of the water
If You Can Play
Newly appointed interim sexual assault services and prevention specialist sits down with the Justice.
The men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams opened their seasons at home on Saturday.
All 19 varsity sports teams participated in making a video opposing discrimination against LGBTQ athletes.
FEATURES 8 For tips or info email editor@thejustice.org
an ambulance. Director of Public Safety Edward Callahan wrote in an email to the Justice that “the Brandeis van service is running and the victim has been released from the hospital.” Callahan wrote that he could not divulge further information, as the accident is still under investigation. The traffic division of the Waltham Police Department is investigating the accident. Waltham Police did not have an update on the bicyclist's condition as of press time, though they noted that the injuries she sustained were not life-threatening and she was being treated at a Boston-area hospital.
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INDEX
SPORTS 15 ARTS SPORTS
17 16
EDITORIAL FEATURES
10 8
OPINION POLICE LOG
10 2
News 3
COPYRIGHT 2014 FREE AT BRANDEIS.