In its annual evaluation of the Student Rights and Responsibilities handbook, the administration significantly altered the sexual assault policy on campus. The Student Conduct Board will no longer review sexual assault and harassment cases; rather, a University appointed "special examiner" will now evaluate all forthcoming allegations.

When one in four female students will be sexually assaulted during their time at school, as reported by the Department of Justice, we support this policy change. We appreciate the administration's recognition of the need to amend and clarify the campus sexual assault policy; however, we also believe continued evaluation is needed as these policies are put into effect.

In an email to the Justice, Director of Student Rights and Community Standard Dean Gendron expressed concerns about students reporting sexual misconduct or harassment under the current system where students process cases. Given the sensitive nature of these allegations, it is understandable that students may feel uncomfortable being evaluated by their peers. While members of the Student Conduct Board are trained to assess and respond to such cases, we think the nature of these allegations may be beyond the purview of students.

Moreover, while the position is currently unfilled, the special examiner should have a legal background combined with experience in psychological counseling. While Gendron said this individual could possibly be a member of the Brandeis community, we believe an objective third-party would best be suited to evaluate sexual misconduct and harassment within the University community. An unaffiliated individual would also encourage more students to come forward with their allegations without bias on the part of the University.

This policy shift comes after allegations from last semester that scrutinized the University's past handlings of sexual assault cases.

While Gendron has said this new policy is not a direct result of this case, he conceded that it did allow the administration the opportunity to "think about how that case affected our practice and how our practice affected that case." Regardless, we're glad the University utilized the case to reevaluate their current policy.

We appreciate that the administration was able to recognize a policy change was needed and moved efficiently to enact these changes within a short three-month period.

However, as the administration puts these changes into effect and monitors their failures and successes, we also urge them to continue evaluating the sexual assault and harassment policies for any possible shortcomings. It is imperative that the University remains an open and comfortable environment that continues to shelter and protect its students.