Jan. 16

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THE CAMPUS `

January 16, 2019 – Volume 112 Issue 14

Title IX to potentially change nationwide Nicole Waltman

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Changes are proposed to Title IX regulations nationwide that could impact college campuses. The U.S. Department of Education released Nov. 18 a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), which is a 150page document that would change existing Title IX regulations. Title IX regulations protect students at federally funded schools from discrimination based on sex or gender. The regulations identify sexual harassment, sexual assault and rape as sex-based discrimination. Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education, spearheaded the proposed changes in September 2017. A 60-day period for people to review the documents and send comments to the government began Nov. 29 and ends Jan. 28. The proposed regulations and breakdowns of what they mean can be found at federalregister.gov. A list of all of the regulations that would either be amended, removed or added can be found in the “background” section, said Remy Barnett, OCU’s Title IX investigator. The proposed changes include: - University officials would be able to choose between the two standards of proof—“Preponderance of the Evidence” and the higher standard of proof, “Clear and Convincing.” “Preponderance of the Evidence” means that there must be a greater than 50 percent chance that a claim is true. Civil courts use this standard, which applies to cases involving divorce, car accidents, etc. University officials currently use this standard. “Clear and Convincing” dictates that evidence be highly more likely to be true than untrue. - There would be a change in the way university officials would request religious exemptions from the law. Religious exemptions currently are allowed when the law conflicts with religious beliefs. For exemption, university officials must write a letter to government officials, identifying the conflict and requesting exemption. The proposed change would allow institutions to exempt the conflict on their own without submitting a letter to government officials. - Each party in a sexual misconduct hearing would be allowed to bring an adviser, parent, attorney, mentor, etc. to ask questions of the other party on their behalf, rather than having a neutral person asking questions. “Before these regulations are finalized, the government has an obligation to respond to all substantive comments,” Barnett said. “They will basically release a document that goes over the comments they’ve received, their responses to that, and really clarifying a lot of the new regulations they’re proposing.” Comments can be made directly to the federal register website, federalregister.gov/. OCU’s Title IX officials and Student Civic Engagement Committee members are partnering to host an event called “Comment and Chill” from 6-9 p.m. tonight in the Great Hall in Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center. Title IX officials also received assistance from Student Activities Council in

Current

Proposed

Universities across the country use preponderance of the evidence standard.

Universities would be able to choose between preponderance of the evidence and clear and convincing.

Universities are required to investigate complaints they’re given, no matter the location of the incident in question.

Universities would not be required to investigate incidents if they happened outside of the country, such as on a study abroad trip.

Universities can receive religious exemptions from Title IX by writing a letter to the government.

Universities would be able to file religious exemption on their own with no letter.

Sexual harrassment is defined as: “unwelcome sexual or sex-based conduct that is severe, persistent or pervasive.”

Sexual harrassment would be defined as: “unwelcome conduct, based on sex, that is severe, pervasive and objectively offensive.”

In university sexual misconduct hearings, each party can ask the opposing party questions through a neutral person.

Universities would have to conduct live hearings in which both parties could bring an adviser to ask questions on their behalf.

Source: OCU Title IX

the planning of the event, which is to help inform students about the potential changes and how they can address them. The event is to provide students with information, not to argue about policies, Barnett said. “I don’t see this as a space for debating the merits of any particular part of the regulations. I see this more as an opportunity for comradery, for mutual support, so we can all do this civic duty together and have each other’s backs throughout that,” Barnett said. “Students are some of the folks that are most directly impacted by things like this, and I think it’s really critical that students have an active voice in shaping these kinds of policies. Commenting will always make a difference. It always matters. Regardless of the next step, it still matters.” The event is meant to help the campus community, said Taylor Downey, youth ministry sophomore and Title IX program coordinator. “Because the regulations are a lot to get through, we wanted a space where people could come get a brief summary of what

the biggest changes to Title IX would be if these regulations were passed,” Downey said. “We also want to help people make comments that won’t be disregarded by the federal government.” Comments that don’t contain a certain level of formality or seriousness can be a waste of time for everyone involved, Downey said. “The whole point is just to have a chill space where people can do their civic duty, but also have a good time,” Downey said. The free, come-and-go event is open to the campus community. Students should do their own research and learn as much about the regulations as possible, especially if they can’t attend the event, Downey said. “Our campus is pretty good about making their voice heard, and this is something that’s way bigger than just our campus, but even so, it’s something that we can still be a part of,” Downey said. Downey said OCU, as a campus community, should appreciate the protection of Title IX on college campuses for students, faculty and staff from gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment. She said the potential changes are important because they will impact the current and future campus community. There are small flyers around campus containing a QR Code that digitally directs students to the regulations and the place to comment. Trae Trousdale, mass communications sophomore and director of the Student Civic Engagement Committee, said, as soon as he learned of the potential Title IX regulation changes, he knew the committee should be involved in helping reach students. “Our goal is to coordinate, produce and direct civically engaging activities for our student body. That’s not only for students that live here in Oklahoma and are civically engaged in our local communities, but also how can our students that are from out of state still be engaging with their communities, both at home and here in their new home,” he said. “In order for us to be productive citizens, we have to be productive students. In order for us to be productive students, we have to have a safe campus environment, and that is exactly what Title IX is doing.” Trousdale encouraged students to attend tonight’s event and ask questions, no matter their views on the potential changes. “We have our own personal opinions, but, officially, we are just presenting the information for students to get their opinions from it,” Trousdale said. If students have questions about Title IX, they may email Barnett at rcbarnett@okcu.edu or reference the university’s Title IX website at okcu.edu/admin/hr/titleix. Editor’s note: Community Manager Maddie Bowes is a member of Student Civic Engagement Committee. She did not participate in the writing or editing of this story.

Student Activites Council makes new Free Movie Night plans Nicole Waltman

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Students have expressed concerns about the changes made to an event that happens every semester. Free Movie Night was a monthly, off-campus event hosted at Harkins Theatres Bricktown, 150 E. Reno Ave. Students would swipe their Student IDs at the door, receive free ticket vouchers and see a movie of their choice, until last semester. SAC was trying something new in Fall 2018 by hosting Free Movie Nights on campus to save money and change things up said Madelynn Buckman, entertainment business senior and vice president of Student Activities Council. SAC showed Oceans 8 on the quad and Hocus Pocus in Tom and Brenda McDaniel University Center last semester, both of which were on-campus Free Movie Nights. “The plan is to have two Free Movie Nights this semester again,” Buckman said. “Obviously trying out last semester, not having it at a theater with choices didn’t work out, students weren’t happy about it.” Buckman said her adviser, Haley Stiles, assistant director of student engagement, is trying to get in touch with Cinemark Tinseltown & XD, 6001 N. Martin Luther King Ave., to host both Free Movie Nights off campus this semester. “I think people think that I don’t want Free Movie Nights, and that’s not the case,” Buckman said. “It was just us trying something new, and you don’t know until you try. We’re doing our best for this semester to fix that.” The goal is for Free Movie Night to function as it did offcampus in the past. There are no dates set for Free Movie Nights this semester. Morgan Wanamaker, dance junior and chief commissioner of SAC, said she is excited about the new plans because she was disappointed that there were no off-campus Free Movie Nights last semester. “Fall semester is very hectic, and there’s a lot more on the calendar universitywide than there is in the spring, so that made things difficult,” she said. “I was really hoping we were going to get to do one.”

M MEDIAOCU.com

Come to the events. Talk to us. Come to our meetings. We're more than happy to work with you and hear your needs. Morgan Wanamaker chief commissioner Student Activities Council

Wanamaker said she enjoyed the on-campus movies because it was a nice change of pace, but she hopes off-campus movies can be incorporated too. “Each month I had something to look forward to, and I hope that’s something we can bring back into the campus this semester,” Wanamaker said. Mark Howell, mass communications senior, said he thought on-campus movie nights were a good idea. “I believe the on-campus movie night was a good alternative instead of the movie theater,” Howell said. “It does save tons of money, and, at the same time, students still get their movie night.” Howell also said he attended the previous off-campus movie nights, and he appreciated being in an actual theater and having concessions nearby. Buckman said not all of the budget for Free Movie Night was used last semester, and what was left will be added to the $7,500 Free Movie Night budget this semester. She also said tickets to Tinseltown are about $3 cheaper per ticket than tickets to Harkins. Megan Berning, acting junior, said she prefers off-campus movie nights and wishes SAC members were less frugal. “I understand the idea of saving money, but what’s the point in spending any money if people aren’t enjoying it? I think spending the money on Free Movie Nights is 100 percent worth it,” she said. The highest past attendance on record from the Harkins Free Movie Nights was about 750 people, so Buckman said they hope to have 1,000 tickets in preparation for the first movie night this semester.

Elise O’Connell, music senior, said she’s disappointed that students were not warned of the changes to Free Movie Night last semester. “The issue I had with the change was that nobody knew Free Movie Nights were gone,” O’Connell said. “If they had wanted to save money and done away with them, our community would have understood, but SGA should have notified the student body.” O’Connell said she and many others were upset with the lack of transparency and honesty from SGA regarding the alteration of an event that happens every semester. “I think they should bring them back if they can,” O’Connell said. “It’s a great way for OCU students to relieve some stress and get off campus.” Having Free Movie Night every month caused SAC to lose money, Wanamaker said. “People would be like, ‘oh, I’ll just go to the next one,’” she said. “So we’re trying to make it more of an exciting event that doesn’t happen every month so that people can benefit more from it, and it’s still financially smart.” Buckman said she understands why students post questions about events on the OCU Facebook group, but encouraged them to approach her directly with questions or concerns. “A couple people have reached out to me, and I’ve answered them, so I encourage them to reach out to me and talk to me about it,” she said. Wanamaker said elections for new officers will determine what the future of Free Movie Night looks like. She said she hopes to run for the SAC vice president position. “We hear you, and we want to make events that you want as well,” Wanamaker said. “Come to the events. Talk to us. Come to our meetings. We’re more than happy to work with you and hear your needs. But it’s easier to do it face-to-face than over social media.” If students have questions, they may email Buckman at mybuckman@my.okcu.edu or Wanamaker at mewanamaker@ my.okcu.edu.

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