Talking Stick - May/June 2017 - 24

RES LIFE

Advocating for
Students and Title IX
A focused position can bring better
student support and better oversight to
your campus.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY RESIDENCES

Purdue's campaign, branded "UR Stands," leveraged the university's social media accounts in
order to message the education and advocacy efforts taking place on campus.

by
Michael Seals and Lee Morrison
In an attempt to urge educational institutions to better investigate, report, and
adjudicate incidents of sex discrimination on their campuses, the Dear
Colleague Letter of 2011 started out by
clarifying that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 - which
prohibits sex discrimination in schools
- also covers sexual violence: "Sexual
harassment of students, which includes
acts of sexual violence, is a form of

24

KNOWLEDGE
DOMAINS
TALKING STICK
in this article

sex discrimination prohibited by Title
IX." As the letter became the focus of
media inquiry, legislative attention, and
judicial oversight, it began to shine a
light on the problems of addressing and
reporting sexual violence on college and
university campuses. At many institutions, the environment within which
cases were examined and adjudicated
was negative, sometimes even adverse,
and the procedures for reporting and
investigating allegations were vague.
Students didn't always know who to
contact or where to go for help, and as
a consequence many incidents went

unreported; and, even if they were reported, some victims felt they were not
being fully supported.
One of the directives was to designate an employee who could act as
coordinator of the institution's efforts
to fulfill its responsibilities under Title
IX. At Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, the associate director
of student advocacy and deputy Title
IX coordinator was created as someone who can holistically advocate for
students affected by sex discrimination
in its many forms: sexual harassment,
sexual assault, sexual violence, domestic violence, and stalking. Having an advocate who can initiate and
coordinate responses has allowed for
a clear procedure for handling in-time
responses, a detailed review of all
incidents, an effective dissemination
of knowledge about campus resources,
more effective case management, and
better oversight of the university's
compliance with Title IX guidelines.
Establishing this kind of advocacy
position requires careful preparation
and planning in order to engage the
support of senior leadership. Here are
the steps you can take to create such a
position on your campus and to ensure
its success.
First, become familiar with relevant
institutional data that will most effectively demonstrate the need for the
kind of expertise and coordination that
this position offers. According to Lee
Morrison, Purdue's associate director
of student advocacy and deputy Title IX
coordinator, "One of the things I'm able
to do by tracking all of the crisis and Title IX concerns in the residence halls is
to help evaluate baseline behaviors for
students with mental health concerns
and note any patterns of predation for
Title IX concerns." Relevant data can
be obtained from the campus's office of
institutional research, office of student
conduct, or existing professional organizational surveys.

Human Resources
Examine and implement staffing structures and organizational plans to meet
department and institutional mission and goals.
Talking Stick - May/June 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - May/June 2017
