Senators Criticize Greek Life Groups Lobbying for Safe Campus Act

Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Claire McCaskill say the Safe Campus Act makes reporting sexual assaults more difficult. Both senators sponsor the Campus Accountability and Safety Act.

Two U.S. senators told reporters that national fraternity and sorority groups lobbying for a new campus sexual assault bill are “misguided” on Oct. 29.

Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said the North-American Interfraternity Conference and the National Panhellenic Conference are wrong to be supporting the Safe Campus Act, according to the Huffington Post.

The Safe Campus Act would require students to report sexual assaults to police before colleges are allowed to investigate the claims themselves.

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The senators said they plan to start reaching out to Greek life organizations soon to voice their concerns over the Safe Campus Act, which they say makes it more difficult for sexual assault victims to come forward.

Both senators are cosponsoring an alternative sexual assault bill known as the Campus Accountability and Safety Act, which would increase fines for colleges that mishandle sexual assault cases and improve transparency about student punishments, among other things. That bill has been introduced in the Senate while a companion bill was introduced in the House of Representatives.

The fraternity and sorority groups were not immediately available for comment.

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