university experts discuss differences between OEO, green dot, CaRE, Sex health Reps

by Kaashvi Ahuja Staff Writer

For responding to issues of sexual misconduct or discrimination and harassment on campus, Tufts has departments including the Center for Awareness, Resources and Education and the Office of Equal Opportunity. However, despite being organized and managed differently, there remains confusion in differentiating the offices.

Alexandra Donovan, director of CARE, and Jill Zellmer, executive director of OEO, have spoken on the functions of their respective groups in the hopes of providing clarity for those who need it.

“CARE is set up to respond to anyone who’s been impacted by sexual misconduct. We offer confidential support for that,” Donovan said in an interview with the Daily. “We are unique in that we are the only office that offers confidential support around sexual misconduct.”

Unlike OEO, CARE contains several affiliated student groups aimed at student education and outreach.

“Green Dot and the Sex Health Reps are student groups that are attached to CARE,” Donovan said. “They are considered department student groups, which means that they have a staff adviser from CARE, but they are run by students, for students in our peer-to-peer education programs.”

Donovan also touched on specific things CARE can do to provide support, including communicating with OEO on behalf of students who may not feel comfortable reporting an incident directly to OEO. CARE can also accompany students who may feel nervous about going to the Tufts University Police Department about their problems.

“We have a lot of flexibility in that regard. With OEO, they are upholding policies, they are responding in a very systematic way. They don’t have that flexibility of what they offer … so it feels very different in that way,” Donovan said.

Zellmer noted that Tufts is, by law, required to have an organization like OEO to serve the community.

“There must be an office at all institutions that investigates discrimination and harassment of all protected categories, including sexual misconduct,” Zellmer wrote in an email to the Daily. “The OEO serves this function for the university communities at all our schools and its oversight includes faculty, staff, students, patients, visitors, etc.”

As an institution of higher education, Tufts must adhere to specific government guidelines.

“When we conduct investigations for Tufts, we must follow federal, state, and local laws and regulations such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights (OCR) and the MA Commission Against Discrimination (MCAD),” Zellmer wrote.

Because of OEO’s compliance function, Zellmer see OEO, page 21