STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSEMBLY
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
1 University Station, A6210 · Austin, TX 78712-0810
(512) 471 – 3166 · Fax: (512) 471-3408 · http://www.utsg.org
A.R. 14
In Opposition to H.R. 3403
IN THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN STUDENT GOVERNMENT
Authors:
MR. TARAL PATEL (Chief of Staff, Student Government), MR. JUAN SAEZ (Representative,
Undergraduate Studies), MS. RACHEL OSTERLOH (President, Senate of College Councils), MS.
GRACE GILKER (Director, Women’s Resource Agency), MS. HAYLEY COOK (Representative,
University Wide), MS. NICOLE CHU (Internal Financial Director, Student Government), MS.
AMBER MAGEE (Administrative Director, Student Government), AND MS. SASHA PARSONS
(Civic Engagement Policy Director, Student Government)
Sponsors:
MS. HAYLEY COOK (Representative, University Wide), MR. SANTIAGO ROSALES
(Representative, University Wide), MR. GREGORY ROSS (Representative, School of
Engineering), AND MR. JUAN SAEZ (Representative, Undergraduate Studies)
WHEREAS, Student Government serves as the official voice of students at the University of
Texas at Austin; and,
WHEREAS, Approximately 1 in 4 female students and 1 in 10 male students have reported being
sexually assaulted nationwide according to a new study done by the Association of
American Universities1 ; and,
WHEREAS, 24.1% of undergraduate TGQN students (transgender, genderqueer, questioning, or
nonconforming students or who chose not to list any gender designation) have
reported being sexually assaulted since their enrollment according to the same study;
and,
WHEREAS, Sexual violence is an issue that will affect over 1 in 3 women2 in their lifetime and 1
in 6 men 3 in their lifetime; and,
WHEREAS, Sexual violence is often minimized, denied, and stigmatized which leads to massive
underreporting4; and,
1http://www.statesman.com/news/news/report-1-in-5-female-ut-students-say-theyve-been-s/nnj2w/
http://www.woar.org/resources/sexual-assault-statistics.php
3 http://www.woar.org/resources/male-sexual-violence.php
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WHEREAS, Survivors of sexual assault often do not report the crime to the police because there
is a massive social risk especially when the perpetrator is someone they know or see
on a daily basis; and,
WHEREAS, Rapists are often repeat offenders5; and,
WHEREAS, Only 18% of reported rapes result in a conviction6; and,
WHEREAS, 32% of victims did not report to the police because they thought the police would
not take the crime seriously while 37% of victims feared the police would treat them
poorly7; and,
WHEREAS, Going through a potential public rape trial in a criminal justice system with a very
low rate of conviction deters many from reporting to the police; and,
WHEREAS, Less than 5% of completed or attempted rapes against college women were reported
to law enforcement8; and,
WHEREAS, There are many groups on campus seeking to actively combat campus sexual
violence like Voices Against Violence, BeVocal, Not On My Campus, SURE Walk
and many others; and,
WHEREAS, An overwhelming majority of advocacy organizations that support rape survivors
oppose this legislation9; and,
WHEREAS, Many fraternity and sorority groups throughout the nation individually oppose HR
340310; and,
WHEREAS, HR3403 is both being bankrolled and pushed by the Fraternity and Sorority Political
Action Committee (FratPAC) because they believe there is an epidemic of false
sexual assault investigations without providing empirical data to prove it11; and,
http://time.com/2905637/campus-rape-assault-prosecution/
http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/america-tonight/america-tonight-blog/2013/10/28/serial-rapistscommit9of10campussexualassaultsresearchfinds.html
6 https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/221153.pdf
7 https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/221153.pdf
8 http://www.nsvrc.org/saam/campus-resource-list
9 www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/rape-victims-safe-campusact_55f300cce4b063ecbfa4150b?utm_hp_ref=college&ir=College&section=college
10 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/01/fratpac-college-rape_n_6966504.html
11 www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-24/fraternities-lobby-against-campus-rape-investigations
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WHEREAS, H.R. 3403 prevents a university from investigating sexual assault unless the accuser
agrees to report the incident to the police12; and,
WHEREAS, If an institution receives an allegation along with written consent from the alleged
victim, the institution must report the allegation to a law enforcement agency no later
than 48 hours following the initial report13; and,
WHEREAS, If the alleged victim does not consent to reporting to the local law enforcement
agency, the institution cannot initiate investigations or “institutional disciplinary
proceedings” or impose interim sanctions against the alleged assailant14; and,
WHEREAS, If the accuser consents to reporting to the local law enforcement agency, the
university can only impose temporary sanctions, including a suspension to last no
longer than 15 days unless the institution concludes that the alleged assailant poses a
threat to campus safety15; and,
WHEREAS, These temporary sanctions include a suspension of no more than 10 days for an
organization that is alleged to have facilitated the sexual assault, “only if the
institution determines that the organization has engaged in activity that presents a
significant risk to the health and physical safety of campus community members, and
that the imposition of the suspension is not done merely for punitive purposes”16;
and,
WHEREAS, Any interim sanction imposed during the period of law enforcement investigation
shall be terminated “upon the expiration of the period in which a law enforcement
agency is investigating the allegation,” unless an indictment has been successfully
imposed and the case has gone to the judicial system17; and,
WHEREAS, The “institutional disciplinary proceedings” that the institution undertakes during law
enforcement investigations can only be in relation to the interim sanctions seeking to
be dealt18; and therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, The University of Texas at Austin Student Government strongly opposes
H.R. 3403, which inhibits the University of Texas’ ability to investigate alleged sexual
assaults; and therefore,
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/3403
https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/3403
14 https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/3403
15 https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/3403
16 https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/3403
17 https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/3403
18 https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/3403
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, The University of Texas at Austin Student Government
supports the empowerment and ability of victims of sexual assault to select their
preferred method of reporting the situation; and therefore,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, The University of Texas at Austin supports the development of
efficiency and impartiality in University-led investigations of alleged sexual assault;
and therefore,
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be sent to Mr. William McRaven,
Chancellor of The University of Texas System; Mr. Paul L. Foster, Chairman of The
University of Texas System Board of Regents; Dr. Gregory Fenves, President of The
University of Texas at Austin; Ms. Ellyn Perrone, Associate Vice President of
Research-Federal Relations of the University of Texas at Austin, Congressman Lloyd
Doggett (TX CD-35), Congressman Pete Sessions, Congresswoman Kay Granger,
Chairman John Kline, Congressman Ruben Hinojosa, and The Daily Texan.