Jan 09, 2014 01:03 PM EST By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Cornell University does not have a complaining victim who claims to be treated unfairly, but the school is refreshing its sexual assault response policies anyway.

Over the past two years or so, several of the U.S.' top institutions have come under fire for not properly handling reports of sexual misconduct. Instead of waiting for something to go wrong, Cornell has been working during that time to ensure the proper steps are taken when an issue arises.

According to the Huffington Post, the school's president David Skorton has addressed the issue multiple times, adjusting investigation procedures and instituting a student-faculty council to review the handling of sexual assault reports.

"It's clearly an issue in our society and we're not exempt from that," Susan Murphy, Cornell's vice president for student and academic services, told the HP.

Ivy League schools like Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Yale and Dartmouth are just a handful of colleges in the country that have been criticized for sexual misconduct policies. Additionally, UNC-Chapel Hill, USC, Emerson, Occidental, UConn and several others have been under a federal investigation from the U.S. Education Department's Office of Civil Rights for mishandling such reports.

"For too long this has been considered a 'women's issue,' but it is in fact one that concerns us all," Skorton wrote in a Cornell Daily Sun op-ed published in Dec. "It is critical that we recognize that sexual violence is a 'men's issue' as well."

In April, 2012, Cornell changed its sexual assault response procedure to no longer be investigated under the school's Campus Conduct Code. Now, a judicial administrator will handle reports of sexual misconduct similarly to how allegations against faculty and staff are treated. This will take some burden of proof off the victim.

Alexandra Brodsky is a Yale Law student who filed a Title IX complaint in 2011 against her school for mishandling her sexual assault claim. She has since become an activist for victims of sexual assault and co-founded Know Your IX.

"Each time complainants file, they put not only their college, but all U.S. schools on notice," Brodsky told the HP. "Any school that doesn't shape up soon will be next. The student anti-violence movement is growing, and schools can no longer afford their apathy and abuse."

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