Andrew Cuomo

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a cabinet meeting in the Red Room at the Capitol, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2015, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

(Mike Groll)

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Gov. Andrew Cuomo is turning up the pressure on private colleges and universities -- and urging victims to seek off-campus help from law enforcement officials to investigate rapes and assaults -- as he tries to force education leaders to adopt a set of state policies on handling sex crimes.

"If someone gets shot on a campus, that is not an academic matter," Cuomo said today during a cabinet meeting in Albany. "You would call the police." The same should be done when someone claims he or she is raped, he said.

Colleges, Cuomo said, have incentives to investigate serious crimes within campus to keep the prevalence of assaults from the public eye. Using campus police and faculty panels to adjudicate sex crimes can quickly become a "he-said, she-said," situation, the former attorney general said.

"It is not a campus matter," Cuomo said as he announced his "Enough is Enough" campaign. "It is not an academic matter....You have a right to go to law enforcement."

As part of his 2015-16 state budget, Cuomo has proposed legislation that would require private schools such as Syracuse University, Le Moyne College and Cazenovia College to adopt the sexual assault policy put in place at New York's public universities just two months ago.

The new public policy, adopted in early December, requires public colleges to investigate and report sexual crimes uniformly throughout the State University of New York's 64 campuses. Those rules include acknowledging "affirmative consent" as permission between students to engage in sex and forgives drunk or high students for breaking campus rules when reporting sex crimes.

Additionally, SUNY schools now have a "sexual violence victim/survivor bill of rights." Part of that policy means to assure people reporting sex crimes they can contact off-campus law enforcement officials to investigate.

Cuomo said today that turning to local law enforcement, instead of relying on campus security staff, is a key part of combating sex crimes on campuses. He did not say whether local law enforcement or municipalities would receive extra money to handle more cases, should that happen.

Today, the New York State Police launched a new 24-hour hotline to handle reports of sex crimes on any campus, public or private. That number is 844-845-7269.

The attention to sex crimes on campuses is part of a national movement to lower instances of rape and assault at schools. Colleges are facing more pressure to provide better protection of alleged victims and more due process for those accused of sex crimes.

Fifty-five colleges and universities face federal investigation for their handling of sexual abuse allegations, and the Education Department says reports of forcible sexual offenses on U.S. campuses rose from 3,443 in 2011 to 4,062 in 2012, the Associated Press reported in January.

Cuomo released a video today to promote the issue. "New York has more schools being investigated for sexual assault than any state in the nation," the governor says in the video.

Cuomo is negotiating with the New York State Legislature on his budget proposal. Lawmakers are expected to vote on the proposals before April 1, when the state's fiscal year begins.

The SUNY system in December adopted a uniform sexual assault policy for its 64 campuses. That policy:

Defines consent as affirmative consent. This means that silence or lack of resistance does not equal consent for sexual activity. "Seeking and having consent accepted is the responsibility of the person(s) initiating each specific sexual act regardless of whether the person initiating the act is under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Consent to any sexual act or prior consensual sexual activity between or with any party does not constitute consent to any other sexual act," according to the state's policy. "Consent may be initially given but withdrawn at any time. When consent is withdrawn or cannot be given, sexual activity must stop. Consent cannot be given when a person is incapacitated."

Gives amnesty for breaking other college rules when reporting sexual assaults or violence. Under the SUNY policy, students reporting a possible sex crime cannot get in trouble if they have been drinking or using drugs.

Requires uniform confidentiality and reporting policies.



Calls on each school to conduct "climate assessments" to gauge the prevalence of sexual assault. These surveys include students as well as faculty and staff.

Provides training requirements for administrators, staff, and students, including at new student orientations.

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