Cutting the red tape: Yale scandal highlights the complexities of sexual assault policies

To be sure, UNC has very little in common with Yale University. But a recent scandal there has hit upon a set of issues that bears resemblance to UNC’s own troubles — navigating the intersection of college athletics, university discipline systems and changing sexual harassment policies.

Disjointed though these concerns may seem, the scandal currently unfolding at Yale has proven they are intimately connected.

The story centers on former Yale quarterback Patrick Witt, who had his candidacy for a Rhodes Scholarship suspended after the Rhodes Trust learned he had been accused of sexual assault, according to a story first reported in The New York Times.

According to Witt’s spokesman, however, Witt decided to withdraw his application because he wanted to play in the annual Harvard-Yale football game, which was scheduled for the same day as his Rhodes interview.

The sensational specifics of the story at Yale aren’t particularly relevant to anyone here at UNC. But the policies and laws at work in his case are — especially the avenues the two universities provide for reporting sexual assault.

The case highlights the complexities of Yale’s system for filing sexual assault and harassment complaints.

The complaint against Witt was “informal,” which means it was reported and resolved through a non-disciplinary mediation process, and no criminal charges were pressed.

Theoretically, providing an informal avenue for filing sexual assault complaints is conducive to reporting crimes that might otherwise go unreported.

For victims unwilling to testify against their assailant, an informal process can provide a good alternative to pressing criminal charges. Ostensibly, the aim is to empower victims.

If managed improperly, however, the results can be just the opposite: By encouraging victims to pursue the least punitive course of action, rapists get off easy, or so the argument goes.

As yet, it is unclear how exactly the informal option translates into real life, real victims and real punishment.

Yale’s system has come under review in light of a recent investigation by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights following a complaint filed by Yale alumni and students alleging the university’s failure to adequately address sexual harassment complaints.

The Office for Civil Rights subsequently issued a “Dear Colleague” letter which specified guidelines for universities to improve their responses to sexual assault.

UNC, of course, is also subject to this mandate and is undertaking a similar review of its sexual assault policies.

The primary question is whether providing multiple avenues encourages reporting or merely confuses victims. Too many choices can be overwhelming, and red tape is the last thing a rape victim should have to deal with.

These questions are difficult, if not impossible, to answer. And it might be an oversimplification to say that our university should learn lessons from Yale’s conundrum.

Nevertheless, the basic questions raised by Yale’s story resonate both at UNC and other college campuses, and each one needs to find better solutions.