Although the University's search for a workable definition of rape has narrowed, debate continues over the implications of the recommendations made by different groups.

The Date Rape Task Force report proposed a relatively strict definition of rape as any sex occurring without the expressed consent of the victim. In other words, both parties involved must openly consent for the act to be legal.

The Undergraduate Council, in discussions that followed the release of the Task Force report, defined rape instead as sex occurring despite the expressed unwillingness of the victim. The Council's recommendation held that a victim must express overt dissent, either verbally or physically, for the act to be considered rape.

While the Council's definition follows state law more closely, advocates of the Task Force report say that Harvard should set higher standards of behavior.

"The University can enforce a higher standard of conduct than the state," says Radcliffe Union of Students (RUS) Co-President Minna M. Jarvenpaa, adding, "But people must be educated about the issue."

RUS threw its support behind the Task Force definition, saying the stricter standards would shift the focus of Ad Board investigations from the victim to the perpetrator.

But backers of the council definition say such standards would threaten the rights of the accused.

Alan H. Erbsen '94, assistant director for University affairs of the Civil Liberties Union of Harvard, says the Task Force definition would not hold up under legal scrutiny.

"The fact that we're a college environment shouldn't change anything," Erbsen says. "Harvard has responsibilities to the victim and the accused."

According to Professor of Law Alan M. Dershowitz, the Task Force definition also undercuts the idea that "no means no."

"It's a political, knee-jerk response to the radical politics of today and makes very little sense," says Dershowitz, who is currently representing boxer Mike Tyson in his appeal of a rape conviction earlier this year.

While proponents of the Task Force definition said the college environment justified the narrower definition, Dershowitz says the concept of expressed consent has dangerous implications.

Such a standard would make most sexual intercourse between married couples rape and would constitute a "dangerous step backwards in a community where people are expected to be articulate [about sexual relations]," he says.

But some students say that such arguments neglect the fact that much of what occurs during sexual relations is unspoken.

"Sometimes, a victim experiences so much fear that she or he cannot verbalize dissent, and the U.C. definition does not account for this," says Eliza B. Clarke '92-'93, co-director of Response, the rape and sexual harassment peer counseling group.