Evolving Date Rape Policy

From 1990 to 1993, Harvard's stance on the prosecution of date rape has remained under close scrutiny.

October 26, 1990

The Crimson prints a news feature which questioned the efficacy of how the Ad Board handles date rape cases. In the article, two College administrators make controversial comments about the difficulties of executing disciplinary action in such cases.

When people are drunk, they may not remember whether they said yes or not. The person that's drunk is not always clear, is not articulate, and that's why you get these cases," said Dean of the College L. Fred Jewett '57.

"I think the women often find it diffucult to say a forceful no. I have a sense that in many of these cases the women thinks she has said no, but it may have been in subtle ways- ways that may have caused confusion," said Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education Jeffrey Wolcowitz.

In response to the comments by Jewett and Wolcowitz, two students poster the campus with a flyer titled "Attack Jewett" that asked students to voice their concerns directly to Jewett. Another poster with Wolcowitz's picture, asks: "Is date rape the woman's fault? The University seems to think so."

October 29, 1990

Seventy-five students stage a candle-light vigil calling for the two deans to retract their comments and for a faculty review of the Ad Board. Four days later, 45 students line the corridors of University Hall to pressure Jewett to retract his comments. Jewett announces plans to clarify his original comments.

November 8, 1990

Jewett proposes the Date Rape Task Force, saying he is willing to make significant changes in both Ad Board procedures and in the way the College communicates the problem of date rape to students. Later in the month, Emily Tucker '93 was elected the Task Force's co-chair in addition to then-Assistant Dean of Co-Education Janet A. Viggiani. A month later, Tucker, Viggiani and Jewett approve a 17-member Task Force.

February 10, 1992

The Date Rape Task Force issues its long-awaited report, proposing a broad definition of date rape as "sexual intercourse without expressed consent as well as "peer disputes subcommittees" which include students to hear disciplinary cases involving date rape. The report also calls for a wide-ranging campaign to educate the campus community about the problem of date rape.

May 6, 1992

The Undergraduate Council, spearheaded by then-Vice Chair Malcolm A. Heinicke '93, disagrees with the recommendations of the task force, issuing its own definition of date rape as "sexual intercousre that occurs despite the expressed unwillingness of the victim." The council also creates a special category of "sexual regligenca," that is "any act of sexual intercourse which occurs without the mutual consent of the parties involved." The council also opposes direct student involvement in disciplinary cases involving date rape. The Civil Liberties Union of Harvard (CLUH) later endorses the council's definition in a position paper.