In July, we reported that student complaints led federal education officials to investigate Swarthmore College’s handling of sexual harassment allegations.

One of the students was fired from a campus job, which is now stirring debate about mandatory reporting requirements. Given dubious campus trial outcomes and over-reaching and byzantine revised Title IX sex harassment definitions, no resolution is likely to be achieved soon.

A Swarthmore College student who was booted from the resident assistant program for refusing to name a sexual assault victim says she’s being punished for speaking out publicly – and prompting a federal investigation, no less – about the institution’s failure to protect those very survivors.

Retaliating against would-be R.A. Mia Ferguson would be illegal under rules enforced by the same U.S. Education Department unit that is investigating Swarthmore, the Office for Civil Rights, and could theoretically lead to an investigation in itself. But Ferguson’s case also points to the complexities inherent in requiring R.A.s to report any known instances of sexual harassment, particularly at a time when those advisers are increasingly doubling as activists to whom hundreds of assault victims — on campus and off — are turning to for support.

“If I had given that victim’s name, she would not have trusted me. No one would have ever trusted me again,” Ferguson said in an interview.

It’s commonly understood, thanks to OCR guidance dating to the 1990s, that colleges should consider R.A.s “responsible employees,” and by extension, mandatory reporters (along with other staff who oversee student behavior) under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. And most colleges do.

..However, R.A.s – and not just those who are publicly known for their advocacy – often struggle with that role, students say. Forced to choose between a student’s — perhaps a friend’s — desire for privacy and contractual obligations, many R.A.s don’t know what to do. After seeing her experience, Ferguson said, some have expressed a disinclination to report on students who’ve confided in them while working.

“That’s essentially not doing your job,” said Chris Losciavo, associate dean of students and deputy Title IX coordinator for students at the University of Florida. “You might as well have not done rounds.”

In most cases, not reporting information gleaned while working as an R.A. is a fireable offense, said Losciavo, who is also president of the Association for Student Conduct Administration. But the Swarthmore case is different because the alleged assault took place before Ferguson became an R.A.

Despite lack of federal guidance on this point, Losciavo said, there is wide agreement among college officials that mandatory reporting rules cover only the time during which the R.A. is employed.