Sexual Assault on Campus: Overview and Best Practices at Occidental College

In October 2011, Professors Caroline Heldman and Lisa Wade of Occidental College gave this presentation to President Jonathan Veitch, Dean Barbara Avery, and Dean Erica O’Neal Howard to provide an overview of sexual assault on Oxy’s campus (using original data they had collected with Oxy students) and to provide best practices for improving the sexual assault climate, programming, policy, and procedures on Occidental College’s campus. In response, President Veitch shared that he wanted to make Occidental a “national leader” for its treatment and handling of sexual assault and sexual misconduct.

Nearly two years later, because of ongoing sexual assault issues on campus and a lack of institutional response to improve these issues, OSAC is filing a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights for Title IX violations and a Clery Act complaint for continued misreporting of sexual misconduct on Occidental College’s campus. All Oxy students deserve a safe and equitable learning environment.