Stanford University Faculty: New Alcohol Policy Not A Result Of Brock Turner's Sexual Assault Case

Stanford University has been on the headlines these past few months due to a controversial sexual assault case faced by one of its former students. Recently, Brock Turner was released from prison after serving just half of his six-month sentence.

Last Friday, Brock Turner left he jail and rode a white SUV which was waiting for him outside the building. He offered no comment to reporters. Angry protesters, some of whom were armed, surrounded the Turners' home, according to several reports.

In Stanford University's official statement, the school maintained that it "did everything within its power to assure that justice was served in this case." The institution also shared how proud it was of its students for stopping the incident and cooperating with the investigation.

Lauren Schoenthaler, Stanford University's senior associate vice provost for institutional equity and access, was recently commissioned to be responsible for the campus-wide coordination of equity and access programs. This includes Title IX as well as sexual violence prevention programs.

According to Schoenthaler, the school is "continuing to expand its programs and is redoubling its commitment to address campus sexual assault." Her focus is to work on bringing an end to sexual violence in the campus as well.

There is a $2.7 million budget for new and expanded programs this year to tackle sexual violence. The funding aims to support an expansion of educational programs, new support services for victims of sexual assault and a state-of-the-art process for investigating sexual violence allegations.

Regarding the new alcohol policy, Schoenthaler admitted that it was not due to Brock Turner's sexual assault case. The policy is said to be "an effort to address binge drinking, which has many negative impacts on the lives of students."

"Stanford has never punished a victim or witness for an alcohol or drug violation in connection with a sexual assault investigation," she added. "Both California law and university policy specifically address this issue and provide amnesty for voluntary drug and alcohol ingestion in the course of sexual assault and relationship abuse investigations."