Loyola University • New Orleans • Volume 97 • Issue 18 • February 8, 2019
THE MAROON FOR A GREATER LOYOLA
Proposed Title IX changes cause controversy By Tyler Wann wtwann@my.loyno.edu,
The Department of Education has proposed controversial new changes to the rules that govern a university’s response to sexual assault that have many people wondering how those cases will be handled. The changes, covered under Title IX, relate to several aspects of how universities respond to sexual assault cases. Some advocates are worried that these changes could actually make colleges and universities less safe. On the other hand, some advocates see the changes as a step in the right direction. New Definition The proposed rules would adopt a new definition of sexual assault and harassment, one that Josef Canaria of the Louisiana Foundation Against Sexual Assault, is worried might let inappropriate behavior go unchecked. “The language in the law makes it so that sexual harassment has to be so destructive and pervasive, and, what’s the worst part, that it has to be ongoing,” said Canaria. “Now schools don’t have to do anything about it if it was, say, a one-time thing.” However, Susan Kruth of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education said that not only are these guidelines fair, but they might also actually increase protections for other areas of campus life; namely, that of free speech. “What we’ve seen at a lot of
schools is that they use a very broad definition of sexual harassment, and that ends up prohibiting a lot of constitutionally protected expression. So school’s will punish someone’s speech about sex just because someone finds it offensive,” she said. According to Kruth, by raising that bar, student’s freedom of expression is being preserved while also allowing an action to be taken when it needs to be. “An important aspect of the DeVos standard is that (sexual harassment) actually prevents someone from receiving their education and that it would have that effect for a reasonable person in the complainant's shoes,” she said. “That ensures that it’s not an especially sensitive student having a reaction to something that would otherwise be free speech.” But Canaria is worried that this new definition may discourage some victims from reporting, especially with the need to see a pattern of behavior before it can be classified as sexual harassment. “So they’re going to find out that if their professor says something to them one time it won’t count as sexual harassment anymore,” he said. However, Kruth said that the proposed standard should still prevent cases like that from slipping through the cracks. “If someone is in a position of power, it would reasonably take less of a pattern of conduct to really interfere with someone’s access to education,” said Kruth. Loyola Deputy Title IX Coordinator Diana Ward noted that even
if this sort of behavior may no longer be counted as a Title IX issue, schools like Loyola would still have the option of handling it as a code of conduct violation should a student report. Ward said that she still encourages students to report misconduct issues of any kind. Standards of Evidence Another change to the process is a change in the "mandatory standard of evidence." Under rules implemented by President Barack Obama's administration, universities were required to use what was called a "preponderance of evidence" standard. In other words, someone who was claiming they were sexually assaulted had to present a case that convinced the university that the assault was more than 50 percent likely to have happened. That meant that in some cases, universities treated sexual assault cases differently than other serious offenses, such as plagiarism, where the standard of evidence that the university used might have been that the offense was "clear and convincing." In the new rules proposed by President Donald Trump's administration, that requirement has changed. Now, if universities use the clear and convincing standard for serious conduct cases, that same standard must also be used for sexual assault cases. According to Kruth, this is how it should have been all along. “They should be using the same standard for all cases that have the
same risk as suspension or expulsion, including non-sexual misconduct cases,” said Kruth. “Right now there’s really a disconnect in schools in sexual misconduct cases and non-sexual misconduct cases at a lot of schools. This would even it out so that the same standards would be used in other cases.” Stephanie Boyd, a graduate student working with the advocacy group Loyola Students Against Sexual Assault, said that this mandate might send the wrong message to students. Though Loyola's standards would stay the same since the preponderance standard is used for all cases, some schools may have to change. “It’s difficult to reach a clear and convincing standard of evidence,” said Boyd. “By putting a sexual-violence-based crime as needing to be clear and convincing, that sends a message that when a survivor comes forward with their story, they aren’t being as truthful as somebody who has gone through something else that serious.” Mediation and Live Hearings According to Canaria, this isn’t the only aspect of the reporting process that may be made harder for survivors with mediation being reintroduced to the process after it was done away with during the Obama administration. “It put survivors in the same room as the perpetrator and lets them hash it out. And now it’s back on the table as a tool for conflict resolution, which we know is not very trauma-informed,” said Canaria.
Canaria expressed concern that the mediation process used to be a way that universities put pressure on an alleged victim to handle a situation a certain way. With it making a return, Kruth stressed the importance of the process being both informed and consensual “We think it’s really important that, as the proposed regulations say, it’s so so important that mediation not be forced on them and only used in cases where both parties voluntarily agree in writing,” she said. “We really want that to be an informed and voluntary decision.” Timeline But Canaria isn't just worried that the process will become more triggering; he's also worried about it becoming more tedious. “Schools currently have 60 days from start to finish to complete a Title IX investigation. But under these new guidelines, all they have to do is show that they’re currently working on them,” said Canaria. “Students do not at all have the time to dedicate half of their college career to a sexual assault case.” The Final Rule The department’s proposals have just been closed from receiving public comment, so time will tell whether the department decides to make any amendments to these changes in response to criticism.
SGA and Loyola athletics bring homecoming back By Riley Katz rdkatz@my.loyno.edu After decades of forgoing homecoming formalities, the Loyola’s Student Government Association along with other student organizations is bringing the celebration back to campus. Homecoming week starts Feb. 11 and runs through Feb. 15, bringing a week-long celebration complete with events to campus. Kristen Williams, SGA senator-at-large, head of the student involvement committee and cheerleader, said bringing homecoming back is the perfect way to get students involved on campus. “As a student-athlete as well, it is important to get the students at the games and more active on campus,” Williams said. “It is something that has been missing for a while.” Williams said she hopes to build school spirit and keep attendance up after homecoming ends. “Usually, only student-athletes attend the games and we are hoping to reach more students to have them feel more connected to the university,” Williams said. Williams said she hopes that the event will become an annual celebration that grows in size every year. The original idea for bringing
homecoming back came about in October, but most planning has taken place in the last five weeks, according to Williams. “Since this is the first one in a while, we don’t really have anything to go off of,” Williams said. She added that SGA has been worki n g with t h e stu-
ment has been vital. “Since it is Loyola’s inaugural homecoming, we will be wanting all hands on deck to be sure it runs as smoothly as possible on the financial end,” Banks said. Banks said the athletes are brainstorming further fundraising op-
ball in exchange for a donut. Then students can meet and play games with student-athletes on Tuesday. Ice cream will be given out for “Gallontine’s Day” on Wednesday followed by Bears for Bae on Thursday before the homecoming game. The homecoming festivities wrap up on Friday with Third Friday.
dent-athlete advisory committee and Joann Cassama, SGA vice president, to turn the idea into a reality. Williams said the funds for the event have been taken from the budgets of the involved organizations. Leah Banks, president of the student-athlete advisory committee, said working with SGA, the alumni association and the athletic depart-
portunities in order to pay for the events during homecoming week. The days leading up to and the day following the homecoming games are filled with events that Williams said are made to connect student-athletes with the rest of the student body. Kicking off the festivities on Feb. 11 is “dunk for donuts,” an event where students can dunk a basket-
With every homecoming comes a homecoming court. Nominations for the court took place over the course of three days last week, bringing in a total of 366 nomination responses, according to Williams. Those nominations were narrowed down to the five men and five women who received the most votes. At the homecoming game on Feb. 14, the final voting process will
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take place. From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., attendees can vote for who they want to be elected to the homecoming court, and, at halftime of the men’s basketball game, the winners will be announced. The finalists for homecoming queen are Victoria Hedin, environmental science junior, Sofía Alexandra Rabássa, psychology sophomore, Charde’ Anise Jacquot, accounting senior, Mylinh Bui, biology senior, and Isabella Martinez, a biology senior. The finalists for homecoming king are Darell Honora Jr., sociology freshman, Philip Nijoka, business analytics senior, Blaise Wise, biological science junior, Max Dovale, music composition sophomore and Tommy Barrera, a management sophomore. Williams said the hardest part of planning has been getting the word out about homecoming. “Students don’t always show up to events on Loyola’s campus,” Williams said. “Just letting them know that we do have a homecoming. I keep hearing students say ‘Oh we have homecoming?’ I say ‘Yes, it’s our first one (in a long time).’ Hearing that is exciting to me.” More information about the candidates is available at loyolamaroon. com.