The Faculty Council also appeared to favor the council's definition. As a result, Jewett charged Viggiani and Heinicke, opponents in the debate, with the job of formulating a compromise definition.

The Faculty Council accepted the definition on May 12, making only minor technical changes and giving it to the Faculty for final approval.

Jewett says he was pleased with the outcome of the Task Force's work. "I think the Task Force had a very positive effect on the community's way of looking at this issue," he says. "We have a new policy that's quite explicit and firm."

THE NEW DEFINITION:

"Date rape is any act of sexual intercourse that takes place against a person's will or that is accompanied by physical coercion or the threat of bodily injury."

Formulating a Definition

October 26, 1990

The Crimson prints a news feature which questioned the efficacy of how the Ad Board handles date rape cases. Dean of College L. Fred Jewett '57 says: "When people are drunk they may not remeber 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." The comments sparks protests and "Attack Jewett" posters.

February 10, 1992

The Date Rape Task Force, commissioned after the 1990 protests, proposes a broad definition of date rape as "sexual intercourse without expressed consent." It also suggests a number of educational and administrative measures which are almost immediately adopted by the College.

May 6, 1992

The Undergraduate Council disagrees with the Task Force definition and proposes its own definition: "sexual intercourse that occurs despite the expressed unwillingness of the victim."

February 23, 1993

The council's Malcolm A. Heinicke '93 and the Task Force's Janet A. Viggiani formulate a compromise definition.

May 18, 1993

The Faculty approves the compromise definition, favoring the council's "no" standard.