Warrensburg Daily Star-Journal - Campus assaults in focus: Sen. McCaskill states issue still in spotlight

News Article

By: Jack Miles

A drive to combat campus sexual assaults remains active, Sen. Claire McCaskill said Tuesday.

McCaskill researched the issue and went on a speaking tour of college campuses last year, including at the University of Central Missouri, and in February reintroduced the Campus Accountability and Safety Act to combat assaults.

"We have turned up the temperature and gotten a lot of people's attention," McCaskill said. "I see in campuses across Missouri a new commitment to look at this problem honestly and with transparency."

Student involvement helps keep the issue in the public eye. At 2 p.m. Saturday, she spoke before a large crowd of students about the subject at University of Missouri -- the size of the crowd surprised her, she said.

"I was just so encouraged by how many students came to this speech, because it was about college sexual assault, and these young people are clearly committed to changing the culture, and to making everyone understand that they can intervene, that they can't just be bystanders, that there has to be a circling of the wagons about how unacceptable it is that this has become commonplace on college campuses," McCaskill said. "So I do think that we are going to see a more honest look at what campuses have been doing and haven't been doing, with an eye toward preventing these assaults, and making sure the processes are supportive of victims and fair."

McCaskill said the revised bill -- introduced in a different form in July, and fought by some colleges -- has strong support.

"Our legislation stands a great chance of passing. We've worked very hard at making sure it's bipartisan. We have just as many Republicans sponsoring this bill as Democrats," she said. "We are really trying to go forward with our arms locked together, saying this is … a problem that we have to get after."

There is still work to do to get the bill passed, and then implemented on campuses nationally.

"Are we there yet? No. But I feel much better about the direction this is headed this April than I did a year ago," she said.

McCaskill and 11 other senators introduced the legislation Feb. 26. Other sponsors are Dean Heller, R-Nevada;Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut; Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York; Kelly Ayotte, R-New Hampshire; Mark Warner, D-Virginia; Marco Rubio, R-Florida; Shelly Moore Capito, R-West Virginia; Gary Peters, D-Michigan; Roy Blunt, R-Missouri; and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island.

Key provisions of the legislation include...

* Support: Colleges and universities will be required to designate confidential advisors to assist survivors of sexual harassment, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. Schools will no longer be allowed to sanction students who report sexual violence but reveal a non-violent student conduct violation in good faith, like underage drinking.

* Fairness: All schools will now be required to use one uniform process for campus student disciplinary proceedings and may no longer allow athletic departments or other subgroups to handle complaints.

* Training: Everyone from the confidential advisors to those responsible for investigating and participating in disciplinary proceedings will receive specialized training so that they have a firm understanding of the nature of these crimes and their effect on survivors.

* Transparency: For the first time, students at every university in America will be surveyed about their experience with sexual violence to get an accurate picture of this problem. The Department of Education must name all schools with pending investigations, final resolutions, and voluntary resolution agreements related to Title IX with respect to sexual violence.

* Accountability: This legislation will require colleges and universities to enter into memoranda of understanding with each local law enforcement agency.

* Title IX: Schools that do not comply with certain requirements under the bill may face a penalty of up to 1 percent of the institution's operating budget.

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