We write this letter as proud members of the SpelHouse family. We are alumnae and alumni, who donate our time, money and other resources to the betterment of our beloved institutions. We enjoyed our time as students and we are honored to know that we are part of a family and legacy that began many generations ago. We write this letter as a joint effort with students, faculty, staff, parents and friends of the SpelHouse community to represent the love and appreciation that we have for our schools and each other.

Because of that love, we feel obligated to stand together, asking  that the Atlanta University Center (specifically Spelman College and Morehouse College) restructure how it addresses the issue of sexual assault. We understand that both colleges have procedures in place, but we ask are you -- are we -- doing enough to ensure our students have a safe and healthy matriculation?

In a recently published, widely-circulated article, BuzzFeed’s Anita Badejo (http://bzfd.it/1RzCIss) reported on two Spelman students’ complaints of sexual assault. We understood while reading said article that there are often conflicting accounts in these circumstances, that the colleges do not have all the resources available to law enforcement, and that the colleges are constrained in some instances by privacy laws from commenting on specific cases. However, we were still left with the firm conviction that neither institution possessed the expertise, and in those moments, the competency, to adequately address complaints of sexual assault that arise among students in its community.

We understand that this is not solely a Morehouse and Spelman problem. Institutions of higher education in every corner of our nation are grappling with how best to address instances of sexual assault and sexual violence. Sadly, many of them are failing. However, Morehouse, Spelman, and the AUC community do not have to be counted in that number. As leaders among historically black colleges and universities and the higher education community as a whole, this is an opportunity for both Morehouse College and Spelman College to show leadership by developing comprehensive sexual assault policies and programing that will educate and ensure the safety of all students while providing support and services to victims. It is with this expectation that we are requesting the following actions be taken:

1) Mandatory Education - Create mandatory sexual assault courses for students during New Student Orientation, Crown Forum, Convocation, First Year Orientation and Sophomore Experience. Aside from merely telling students to not rape, we need to do a better job of making sure our community even understands what constitutes as rape. We need to drill the concept of consent and situations that make giving consent to sexual activity impossible. Each school should earmark funds specifically for this endeavor and also include alumnae and alumni in its fundraising strategies and efforts to sustain these courses.

2) Cooperation - Update institutional sexual assault policies to ensure each school works in concert with surrounding institutions.

3) Support of victims - Mandate that faculty, staff and administration attend training to ensure sexual assault survivors receive support and accurate information no matter with whom they confide. At the very least, there should be several designated sexual assault liaisons on campus who can help students navigate through the process of dealing with an assault. Students should be instructed -- during orientation -- how the process works.

4) Transparency - Students should be informed that they have the option to report any accusation of sexual assault directly to the Atlanta Police Department for an independent, unbiased and transparent investigation.

5) Trust - Implement safeguards to ensure no sexual assault survivor unknowingly or involuntarily waives her or his right to a full, fair and impartial investigation, including pursuing civil or criminal charges, before an independent body or law enforcement agency.

6) Inclusion - Create an AUC advisory board that consists of students, alumnae, alumni, faculty, staff and administrators to help each institution combat sexual assault on campuses. Due to the collaborative environment between Spelman, Morehouse and Clark Atlanta, we think that it is imperative that representatives from Clark Atlanta University are involved. We must also ensure all sexual assault programming and policy is inclusive and addresses the needs of gay, lesbian, queer, bisexual, transgender and gender nonconforming students.

We acknowledge that Spelman College has addressed a number of these concerns in a Title IX letter that was distributed to the Spelman College community on Friday, February 5, 2016 (http://bit.ly/1RzCEca). We also acknowledge that Morehouse College addressed a number of Title IX concerns in a letter released to its students, faculty and staff on Tuesday, March 9, 2016. (http://bit.ly/1LcJ4RL). We encourage Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell, Dr. John Silvanus Wilson Jr. and their teams to continue their work in order to ensure students are informed and survivors receive the support and advisement they need, while challenging both institutions to go even further and adopt the additional recommendations we have made. It is imperative that Spelman and Morehouse make addressing sexual assault in an honest and transparent fashion a priority and continue to share their plans with their on- and off-campus constituents.

We look to have these matters addressed in a swift and transparent manner that includes input from all aspects of the AUC community. As members of this community, we are dedicated to assisting in any way possible to make sure we are creating the safest space achievable for our current and future students.