Wednesday, April 3, 2019 // The Statement 
 

BY NADIA FINKEL, STATEMENT CONTRIBUTOR

3B

Do you 
know 
your 
options?

F

rom the viral spread of the 
#MeToo movement to the brave 
testimony of Dr. Christine Bla-
sey Ford, it’s not a secret that sexual 
violence is pervasive in our society. 
However, we are now living in a politi-
cal and social climate where many sur-
vivors of sexual violence are feeling a 
sense of empowerment to speak up about 
their experiences. It’s a time of increased 
awareness, accountability and ultimate-
ly, a call for change.
Living during this important time for 
social change, I began wondering how 
my own community, the University of 
Michigan, can better inform students 
about this situation. While organizations 
that you may be familiar with (e.g. the 
Sexual Assault Prevention and Aware-
ness Center) and the University admin-
istration should continue to focus on 
preventative efforts, it’s equally impor-
tant for these institutions to understand 
that sexual violence on college campuses 
is indeed a widespread issue that stu-
dents and universities must be equipped 
to handle.
The addition of an in-person hearing 
— a process that allows students who 
have been involved in sexual miscon-
duct allegations to ask questions of each 
other and witnesses — to the Student 
Sexual Misconduct Policy motivated me 
to write my senior honors thesis titled 
“Legal Underpinnings and Implications 
of Sexual Assault on College Campuses: 
Perceptions, Attitudes and Policy Rec-
ommendations.” My thesis focused on 
the potential implications of the changes 
to the SSMP and student’s knowledge 
about reporting sexual misconduct on 

this campus. Are these changes help-
ful? Are students informed about them? 
Are these attempts by the University 
to reform reporting sexual misconduct 
enough?
Prior to the adoption of this interim 
policy, students were able to circum-
vent many of these legal proceedings, 
including an in-person hearing, and 
report directly to the University. When 
I began at the University of Michigan, 
survivors had the option to report to the 
University about their experiences. In 
response to these allegations, the Uni-
versity may have responded by changing 
a student’s classes or moving their dorm. 
In contrast, students could report to law 
enforcement where they would have a 
formal trial. However, the adoption of 
this policy blurs the line between the 
traditional criminal justice system and 
the ways the University approaches sex-
ual misconduct. With this policy change, 
in the eyes of many, what was once two 
distinct ways of reporting sexual mis-
conduct coalesces into two indistin-
guishable options.
As such, with the number of reported 
incidents expected to decrease, I wanted 
to collect data surrounding students’ per-
ceptions of reporting and adjudicating 
sexual misconduct on campus. To gain 
an understanding of what is currently 
available to survivors, I had conversa-
tions with various offices on campus 
(i.e., SAPAC, Counseling and Psychologi-
cal Services, Ann Arbor Police Depart-
ment and Division of Public Safety and 
Security). My goal with these conversa-
tions was to identify what makes their 
office unique and especially valuable to 

survivors. For example, CAPS is geared 
toward creating positive mental path-
ways while SAPAC services can help 
with crisis intervention and can help 
survivors formulate an individualized 
healing plan.
Building off of these conversations 
with campus officials, I interviewed 
students across all three University of 
Michigan campuses—Ann Arbor, Dear-
born and Flint. I asked students vari-
ous questions including what resources 
they would recommend if a friend came 
to them after experiencing intimate 
partner violence or sexual assault. The 
results from a sample of 32 participants 
indicated that half of the participants 
said they did not know of any on or off 
campus resources to which they would 
direct a friend.
The lack of awareness of the inter-
viewed students was disturbing and per-
plexing. For many students, reporting is 
not an option they are interested in pur-
suing. However, for those who are inter-
ested in exploring their options, how can 
students feel safe when they don’t even 
know where to report their grievances or 
seek resources?
Currently, the University has various 
prevention programs in place. U-M Ann 
Arbor offers a three-step process for all 
incoming undergraduates. This includes 
an online module about alcohol and sex-
ual violence; the peer-delivered program 
Relationship Remix, aimed at teaching 
college freshmen about consent, person-
al values, and healthy relationships; and 
a bystander intervention program called 
Change it Up!, which is delivered as a 
skit-based performance by students.

U-M Flint and U-M Dearborn also 
offer online programs to educate their 
incoming students. The University needs 
to consider whether efforts solely target-
ing incoming students (freshmen and 
transfer students) are sufficient to pro-
vide education related to campus mis-
conduct policies and reporting options. 
At least from a reporting standpoint, 
with 50 percent of my sample unclear of 
where to report, it seems that these edu-
cational programs are clearly not suffi-
cient.
It’s difficult to say with certainty how 
the new policy will be embraced by stu-
dents on campus. However, what is clear 
is that students do not have adequate 
knowledge of current campus resources.
It might be instinctual to blame the 
University for these lapses in knowledge, 
as many students in my sample did. How-
ever, it is also equally likely that students 
are part of the problem. Despite the 
known prevalence of sexual misconduct 
on college campuses, no student wants 
to think that they or someone they know 
will ever be in need of reporting sexual 
misconduct or of survivor-centered ser-
vices.
A knowledgeable and aware student 
body requires the efforts of both stu-
dents and the University. As a tangible 
product of my thesis and in hopes that 
my research will help students under-
stand what resources exist on our cam-
pus, I created a graphic. My hope is that 
this resource will educate students, 
emphasize the importance of knowing 
your options, and prove that you are never 
alone at the University of Michigan.

Reporting sexual misconduct on campus

INFOGRAPHIC BY NADIA FINKEL

