Massachusetts Daily Collegian

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A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

SGA expresses support for Survivor’s Bill of Rights

( Alex Lindsay/Daily Collegian)
( Alex Lindsay/Daily Collegian)

A motion passed unopposed at Wednesday night’s Student Government Association Senate meeting to support the creation and implementation of a Survivor’s Bill of Rights.

Written in part by the Coalition to End Rape Culture, Know Your IX, Carry that Weight and the United States Student Association, the proposed SBOR supports “survivors of sexual/gender-based assault, violence, and rape” with “institutional protection and resources … and by (holding) the University accountable when these rights are violated.”

The proposed SBOR aims to reform the way assaults are viewed from a case-by-case basis to an institutional problem, and to publicize and tailor reporting methods and resources to the needs of survivors.

Senator Maddie Goldstein said that other universities, including the University of California and the State University of New York systems, have already adopted similar documents.

Goldstein said the majority of the document has already been created and is now being checked over by the Student Legal Services Office for compliance with other existing laws.

Chairwoman of the Diversity and Student Engagement Committee Emily O’Neil said the SGA’s motion to support the bill does not mean that it is tied to the bill being reviewed by SLSO, just that it supports the message.

Goldstein said it could be anywhere from one to two weeks to one to two months before the bill is finalized.

At that point, the bill could potentially go to the vice chancellor of Student Affairs and Campus Life, the Title IX coordinator and eventually to the Board of Trustees for a vote.

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