In the past few months, the Coalition Against Sexual Violence has loudly demanded change, staging a rally and petitioning administrators in University Hall. And more than a year after the coalition was founded, changes may be on the horizon.

After researching other schools' resources for students who have been sexually assaulted, the group has presented a list of eight demands to the College that it says will help Harvard improve the way it handles sexual violence.

Topping the list is a women's center with administrative offices, a health-care clinic, peer counseling groups and a 24-hour rape crisis center. The coalition has also demanded that resident Sexual Assault/ Sexual Harassment (SASH) advisers undergo more comprehensive training.

After two meetings with the coalition last month, College deans have agreed to examine more closely the procedures for dealing with sexual assault and to consider creating a "safe space" for survivors. Additionally, College officials and SASH advisers are now considering changing SASH training.

But the higher-ups in University Hall and many undergraduates--some members of the coalition--still seem unsure about exactly what changes are needed and how much is feasible. While most acknowledge that the coalition's demands stem from justifiable concerns, the specifics still need to be resolved.

Until the coalition can provide a clear conception of each of their demands, the College may be slow to affect change.

Meeting of Minds

The last two meetings with University officials came after long months of struggle to gain administrative and campus attention.

Both administrators and coalition members say the increased communication is a sign of progress.

"I sort of felt like we didn't really move forward in this [second] meeting, but it's still really encouraging that they're being so responsive," says coalition member Kathryn B. Clancy '01, who is also co-president of the Radcliffe Union of Students (RUS).

At the first of two meetings with College officials following their issue of the demands, several coalition members and deans discussed the first item on the list--the women's center.

Clancy says the women's center would be a place survivors could go for "someone to give them a hug and say, 'I care about you. Here's a place where you can sleep. Here are some resources and I can be a legal advocate if you want.'"

Clancy says a women's center is necessary because campus sexual assaults frequently occur in dorm rooms and survivors may not want to return to the place where the assault occurred.

College officials have suggested that at least one temporary solution may be to incorporate a "safe space" for survivors into an existing building.

"I think the safe space idea has some promise," Dean of the College Harry R. Lewis '68 wrote in an e-mail message. "But we need to understand its purpose better and what other on-campus function it could effectively be linked with."

Still, neither side has compromised its position. The first meeting was concluded with an agreement that administrators would follow up the coalition's investigations into other schools' facilities.