UNC released sexual assault policy

In January 2014, the Sexual Assault Task Force was only about halfway through its work. Throughout the spring and summer, members convened as often as once a week to wrestle with definitions, sanctions and the structure of the disciplinary process.

On Aug. 28, nine days after the 2014-15 school year began, the University had a new and more thorough sexual assault policy.

The new policy spends six paragraphs defining consent as an affirmative “yes.”

“Absence of a ‘no’ does not mean consent. The presence of a ‘yes’ means consent,” Christi Hurt, chairwoman of the task force, said in a June interview.

The policy stipulates that the person consenting must not be incapacitated, although he or she might be intoxicated. This issue was particularly challenging for the task force.

“It feels to me that we are trying to catch a greased pig with (consent when intoxicated), because it comes down to the intent of an individual,” Allen O’Barr, director of counseling and wellness services, said at a June task force meeting.

Under the new policy, investigators make a preliminary judgment on a case. Students may then appeal to a hearing panel.

Possible sanctions for the responding party include housing and class schedule changes, no-contact orders, a voluntary leave of absence or suspension and expulsion from all UNC system schools.

“There are new terms that are defined, that students asked for — they wanted to see stalking, for example,” Hurt said.

At the time of her graduation in May, a few months before the policy was finalized, survivor and activist Andrea Pino said the new policy would not signal the end of necessary reforms.

“I think the policy is really only step one here at Carolina,” she said. “I think we need students who are willing to and are going to hold this University accountable and demand transparency.”

Chancellor Carol Folt reviewed the policy before its implementation and said she made no changes. She said the policy will be subject to annual review by an advisory group.

On June 2, Gender Violence Services Coordinator Cassidy Johnson began work in a new position funded by a grant through the U.S. Department of Justice.

“(Sexual assault survivors) can come to me, and I can provide a safe space for them to talk,” Johnson said. “I can link them to other support organizations and services.”

Hurt, director of the Carolina Women’s Center, became assistant vice chancellor and chief of staff for student affairs July. The search for a replacement director is ongoing.

On Jan. 2, after a months-long search, Howard Kallem began work as Title IX compliance coordinator, as part of an expansion of the Title IX office. Kallem, who also served on the Sexual Assault Task Force, left UNC for Duke University on Dec. 1.

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