Sexual assault is a scourge not exclusive to fraternities or universities. It is pervasive in our culture and we, as a society, need to demand better of ourselves. However, the national conversation on sexual assault is centered on universities and we, as a campus community, need to do better.
Late last week, the University of Wisconsin System announced a task force to address sexual assault throughout the system. Tonya Schmidt, a member of the new task force, claims the task force will focus on preventing sexual assault through educating the campus community. While a fine and appropriate goal, there’s a major problem with the UW System’s task force — there are no students involved! As President Barack Obama announced last week, “It’s On Us” to stop sexual assault and, fortunately, in Wisconsin we have a statutory obligation to be involved.
Students in Wisconsin carry a long tradition of self-governance with an impressive list of victories. In 1960, Wisconsin students formed United Council, the nation’s first statewide student association, to encourage students to help be part of the solution to student problems. In 1974, students helped pass state statute 36.09(5) which delegated official legal authority to students, statutorily mandating them a seat at the table in determining policy developments for their institutions. Currently, the Associated Students of Madison is UW’s student governing body responsible for upholding the tradition of shared governance and it is imperative that ASM has not only a seat but a strong stake in any discussions on preventing sexual assault on campus.
I call upon ASM Chair Genevieve Carter and all Student Council representatives to develop a new ad-hoc shared governance committee to work with faculty and staff on campus-wide sexual assault prevention strategies. Successful shared governance, by definition, needs more than students at the table. It is essential that any council member willing to propose such a committee finds allies in both the faculty and administration. Dean of Students Lori Berquam has been a strong champion of shared governance and working with students. I would anticipate her office being a strong ally in developing a solution where students are directly involved in solving an issue that has been a continuous focus.
This ad-hoc shared governance committee’s composition can be figured out later, but I envision this group including students from within the student government structure, in addition to representatives from groups that have done important work on sexual assault already such as Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment (PAVE), and representatives from the Greek community. These students, along with representatives from administration and faculty, can help coordinate with the UW System task force to ensure students buy in on an issue where they are most directly affected.
While this committee should not have investigation or disciplinary authority for reasons I hope are obvious, the committee can claim broad discretion in developing innovative programs to help curb sexual assault. These programs could be campaigns promoting similar ideals as the “Yes Means Yes” law recently adopted in California, which mandates a stricter standard for assessing whether sexual assault occurred or not. While I’m skeptical such a proposal could pass the Wisconsin Legislature, a shared governance body could propose that University of Wisconsin adopt a similar policy for investigating sexual assaults. Whether an investigation is conducted by the police or not, the university can and does investigate sexual assaults on its own, and strengthening our own policies is a great first step in ending sexual assault on campus.
It’s time for students at UW to take a stand on what is a predominantly student problem. We cannot allow administration to have the sole authority in crafting policies and rules. Chair Carter, it is time for ASM to step up and lead the charge. We need strong leadership and we need shared governance.
Adam Johnson ([email protected]) is a graduate student at the La Follette School of Public Affairs. He was the Vice-Chair of ASM during the 17th Session (2010-2011).
