The situation is unfortunately all too familiar: A young woman being assaulted by another student when refusing his sexual advances at a social event. Add in the complications of being abroad, a lack of communication and an unprecedented mishandling. Then you have an institutional failure.

While studying abroad in Poland in 2014, Page Garbee, now a Syracuse University alumna, was found to have been punched by another SU student after not accepting his sexual advances during their night out. And while the university checked all the basic boxes in handling the case, the lack of clear, firm protocol allowed delays, the filing of an incident report and emotional exhaustion to only result in the unfair treatment of a victim and light punishment for the assaulter.

These lapses are why SU Abroad should establish a defined plan of action for handling crimes committed by and against students off the Hill. And not only should the university solidify the grounds and means of punishment, but SU should make these rules available to the public to make it clear that it will not tolerate this sort of abuse under its jurisdiction.

Taking cues from 2015’s New York’s “Enough is Enough” law, violent crimes should be marked on higher education transcripts, and honor programs and societies need to be notified. Perpetrators of crime should feel the full weight of what they’ve done. And even more so, SU must invest itself in the physical and mental well-being of SU students who are victims of crimes, especially when they are perpetrated by other students.

After the guilty student in Garbee’s case returned to the states, the university allowed the student go on with his life without much consequence. He was still able to participate in SU’s Renee Crown Honors program. He was still accepted into the School of Information Studies’ graduate program. He was still a featured student on SU Abroad’s website until The Daily Orange inquired with the Abroad office and the post was taken down.

Should SU implement a stronger policy to address student crime overseas, those found guilty won’t be getting off scot-free, let alone be allowed to carry on in the world as if nothing happened. This sort of quiet condoning of unacceptable behavior by the administration can hold SU students abroad back from reporting crimes committed against them: why bother asking for a trial if no justice will be served anyway?
The mishandling of Garbee’s situation can set a dangerous precedent or serve as a powerful catalyst in the strengthening of much-needed university policy. When assault abroad may be associated with physical, social and emotional isolation, the administration is the last presence that should be leaving students in the dark.