The Women's Law Project of Philadelphia (WLP) recently released to the public a review of a report conducted last year recommending that Penn State revise its sexual assault and harassment policies.

Carol Tracy, WLP director, said the project supports the panel's recommendations and included a review of the report in the firm's press release.

In the report, released to the university and WLP in April, the three-person panel outlined recommendations relevant to university's sexual harassment/assault procedures, what happens to survivors and how the university responds to those who are accused of the offenses.

Tracy said the panel's primary recommendation was for the university to do everything possible to keep the victim in school. The panel also recommended the university provide a fast and easy way for students to obtain sexual assault and rape information.

Penn State spokesman Bill Mahon said the university received the panel's report last spring and advises students not to listen to the "silly press releases" made by WLP. "It was a very shoddy report," Mahon said. "It's one of the poorest kind of reports I've seen from my years working at Penn State."

The evaluation resulted from the lawsuit filed by the WLP against the university in March 2002 for not supporting and protecting a student who was sexually assaulted in August 1999.

A student under the pseudonym "Jane Doe" withdrew from the university after alleging she was sexually assaulted by former Penn State wrestlers Jean Celestin and Nate Parker. Celestin was found guilty and sentenced to six to 12 months in prison; Parker was found not guilty on all charges.

In the report, the panelists said they were troubled by the delay of the case's resolution, causing "unnecessary stress and anxiety to the victim and an unintentional message to the larger community that sexual assault charges are not taken seriously."

Mahon, however, said that Jane Doe's attorneys had asked for a delay in the suspects' university Judicial Affairs hearing until the case was heard in Centre County Court in Bellefonte.

Tracy said the panel found that most resources available at the university, including the Penn State Web site, were ineffective and confusing, especially for victims who are not in a "state of mind to do comprehensive research."

However, Peggy Lorah, Center for Women Students director, said the search engine on the Penn State Web site provides easy access to links for sexual assault awareness, judicial affairs and University Health Services information.

Lorah said the report puzzled her because the center provided the panel with a large amount of information on sexual assault and harassment policies.

Mahon said many of the recommendations in the report are procedures already in place at the university, including the university's own judicial system, sexual assault workshops, escorts, brochures and information online.

He said the university discusses the seriousness of sexual assaults on campus with incoming freshmen at First-Year Testing, Counseling and Advising Program. He added that the university takes care of hospital expenses for victims and works along side local prosecutors in the removal of those who are convicted of assaults.

Helen Davies, professor of microbiology at University of Pennsylvania Medical Center and a panelist, said the panel interviewed Jane Doe, members from the Penn State student body and the administration.