The Student Newspaper of Saint Joseph’s University
Volume XCVIII | Est. 1929 | www.sjuhawknews.com
Sept. 12, 2018
Search on hold for OID NATALIE DRUM ’20 Assistant News Editor
Mac Miller performs at the 2017 SJU Spring Concert. The 26-year-old rapper died at his Los Angeles home on Sept. 7 (Photo by Luke Malanga ’20). SEE PG. 9
Grant opens new position
Christopher Morrin joins St. Joe’s Title IX Office BRENDAN KILEY ’19 Hawk Staff
When Christopher Morrin, St. Joe’s first sexual misconduct prevention specialist, was in college himself at Lehigh University, he joined a sexual violence peer education group. “I am not a survivor, but it is a social justice and human rights issue,” said Morrin, who graduated in 2008 with a degree in political science and German. “It is not okay that this happens and it needs addressing.” A native of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Morrin will have a chance to do just that in his new position at St. Joe’s, created in the Office of Student Outreach and Support under Director Marci Berney after St. Joe’s was awarded a grant by the Department of Justice’s Office of Violence Against Women. The three-year, $300,000 grant will allow St. Joe’s to have a more comprehensive education and prevention apparatus in conjunction with the Title IX office, student organizations such as Rape Education and Prevention Program (REPP) and the Office of Student Life. “Marci and Chris are guiding us through a strategic plan for the grant, operationalizing all of our plans,” said Mary-Elaine Perry, Ed.D, Title IX and Bias coordinator. Gabby Southworth ’19, student activist and member of REPP, said she thinks there are “pros and cons” to having a male in Morrin’s position. Ultimately, she said she was won over by Morrin’s enthusiasm. “Chris’ passion in this issue is evident and I think we can really get through to men,” Southworth said.
Sexual misconduct is a form of violence predominantly, though not exclusively, perpetrated by men against women, Morrin said, which is why he feels it is so important for men to step up and “fulfill our humanity by getting involved and stopping this.” On Oct. 11, Jackson Katz, Ph.D, will deliver a lecture on campus about men’s role in ending violence against women. The speech is part of a statewide It’s On Us campaign, focusing on men’s role in preventing misconduct as well as a concerted effort on campus to bring men and women together against sexual violence. Morrin comes into this role on Hawk Hill with experience. He previously held a similar position at Saint Lawrence University in Canton, New York. Following
his tenure at Saint Lawrence, Morrin went downstate to get involved in national politics, working for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney. While Morrin said he enjoyed working in politics, so much emphasis on fundraising led him to make a change to a career more directly oriented to the social change he said he hopes to see. “There is a lot of pressure to get a job, make money, stuff like that, but I couldn’t deny anymore that is not who I am,” Morrin said. With St. Joe’s, Morrin said he has found a place where people are working to live up to their ideals. CONTINUED ON PG. 4
Christopher Morrin at his office in the Women’s Center (Photo by Matt Barrett ’21).
St. Joe’s will not have a top permanent leadership position for the Center for Inclusion and Diversity until at least the fall 2019 semester. The university will conduct a national search for a new chief diversity officer over the course of this academic year, University Provost Jeanne Brady, Ph.D., said in a statement to The Hawk. Details about how that search will be conducted have not been decided, said Kim Allen-Stuck, Ph.D., assistant vice president of Student Success and Educational Support. Until a hire has been made, Allen-Stuck and Janée Burkhalter, Ph.D., associate professor of marketing, will share the position’s responsibilities, along with other faculty, students and staff. “I do think it is important for this area to be staffed full time by a person who has more professional experience, professional training in this area and [who is] able to lead the university on a permanent basis,” Allen-Stuck said. The position was previously held by Monica Nixon, Ph.D., who left in July to become assistant vice president for equality, inclusion and social justice at the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. As the program coordinator for the Center of Inclusion and Diversity, Imani Briscoe ’17 is confident with the leadership figures that are currently in place. Briscoe was hired in August. “I think with her [Allen-Stuck] as the head of that, we are in a good space because she is such a great advocate and resource on this campus,” Briscoe said. “So, if anything, we do have a good person in place at the time until we get that new provost for the role.” Briscoe herself is a temporary hire and will be in her role until January, when Director for Inclusion and Diversity Natalie Walker Brown, and International Student Advisor Maggie Oliver, both on maternity leave, return to campus. “If I could continue my time here, that would be awesome and I wouldn’t complain about it,” Briscoe said. Despite the efforts of others to step in and fill Nixon’s role, students like Alexis Wilson ’19, co-president of Black Student Union, said they feel the loss of permanent leadership in an office at a crucial time when it is needed. “With Dr. Nixon, she was just very available and super present,” Wilson said. “With a lot of things happening in the office, I knew at any given day I could go into the Center of Inclusion and Diversity and she would be there.” Being present and available for students was an important quality that Nixon brought to the role, Wilson said. “Sometimes I think with administrators on campus it’s hard to reach them or to feel like they are actually hearing what you are saying,” Wilson said. “You kind of have to go through a lot of people to get to them.” Wilson said her position on the Black Student Union and involvement with inclusion and diversity has helped her grow at St. Joe’s. Although the absence of a full-time diversity officer will not have a personal effect on her, it will have a lasting effect on others, she said. “I worry about them not having that person who’s higher up and really feel like they can go to if something were to happen or they need guidance in some shape or form,” Wilson said.