We want to thank Lindsay Church and the Harvard Law Record for addressing an important topic: the implementation at Harvard Law School of the University’s new sexual harassment policy that incorporates federal Title IX requirements. Among the important issues raised by this article and the robust debate on campus about the policy’s implementation, there is one that stands out for immediate action:
We are very concerned about the lack of clarity on who at the law school is currently mandated to report disclosures of sexual and gender-based harassment and assault. If a student describes to a trusted professor a troubling incident with a peer, does that professor now have an obligation to report the incident to the Law School’s Title IX coordinators? What about a student who tells an OCS adviser about a negative experience with a law firm partner during an EIP interview? A student who relays to a resident assistant concern about what a friend has disclosed? Professor John Goldberg, who chaired the faculty committee that drafted the HLS interim policy, stated that “precisely which personnel bear this responsibility is not clear.”
We call on Dean Cosgrove, Professor Goldberg, and the faculty committee that is addressing this issue to promptly provide the student body with clear answers to these questions about who is currently mandated to report under the interim policy, and then to clearly communicate changes once the law school’s policy is finalized.
Many HLS students have had or will have their lives touched by experiences of sexual and gender-based harassment and assault. As the public debate continues and our final Title IX policy remains in flux, we believe that it is very important for students to know exactly what reporting requirements are in effect so that we can take control over our own experiences and make informed choices about seeking help at HLS.
Sincerely,
Students for Inclusion
Student Mental Health Association
Women’s Law Association