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Thursday, November 7, 2019
Volume 121, Issue 62
NEWS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFE&ARTS
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Artificial intelligence provides fashion advice through a University research program.
With cold weather in our future, UT should expand on-campus hot tea options.
Jimmy Fallon talks UT visit, Austin hospitality with The Daily Texan.
Ortiz forced to wait for the opportunity to begin career at Texas after waiver denied.
UNIVERSITY
UT explains Title IX process Various offices break down Title IX process, policy violations in light of recent student protests on faculty misconduct. By Lauren Grobe @grobe_lauren
fter student protests on faculty misconduct, the University has committed to look into its Title IX processes, according to a statement from Maurie McInnis, executive vice president and provost. Title IX complaints span across several offices and are handled in different ways. Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in federally funded programs, according to the Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. This definition has expanded to also include pregnancy discrimination, sexual misconduct and dating and domestic violence, according to the law. When someone files a Title IX complaint, the Title IX Office determines the correct office to conduct an investigation. Title IX coordinator Adriana Alicea-Rodriguez said she oversees the University’s compliance with the law and the Title IX Office itself. “We send them to the correct unit, but we do not conduct investigations,” Alicea-Rodriguez said. The Title IX Training and Investigations office, which is housed in the Office of the Dean of students, handles complaints against students while the Office for Inclusion and Equity handles complaints against faculty. Marquita Booker, associate vice presi-
We issue findings, and it is up to the ultimate decison-maker to make a determination as to whether or not there are going to be sanctions,” MARQUITA BOOKER
associate vice president of diversity and community engagement
dent of diversity and community engagement, said the Office for Inclusion and Equity investigates all complaints made against nonstudents at the University.
emma overholt
“When it gets to our office, we do our initial assessment phase,” Booker said. “(High-risk) cases have to start right away and determine if there are any interim measures that need to be in place.” According to the UT Title IX website, interim measures can include no-contact directives, which prevents direct communication between the person who filed the complaint and the person who it is against. Once the complaint reaches the relevant office, Alicea-Rodriguez said the Training and Investigations office asks the complainant if they want a formal or informal resolution. She said an informal resolution results in no official administrative action from the University, while a formal investigation could result in formal action. From there, both offices begin their respective investigations. Alicea-Rodriguez said individuals with a history of sexual misconduct complaints are
not given the option of an informal resolution. The Office for Inclusion and Equity investigations only consist of gathering evidence and compiling a report, and they do not play a role in assigning disciplinary action, Booker said. “We issue findings, and it is up to the ultimate decison-maker to make a determination as to whether or not there are going to be sanctions,” Booker said. Sanctions for a faculty complaint are determined by the provost’s office, Booker said. The Title IX complaint and investigation processes in any case are administrative processes within the University and do not determine necessarily whether a crime has been committed, University spokesperson Shilpa Bakre said. “We don’t actually use the terms innocent or guilty,” Bakre said. “We’re looking at policy violations or not a violation. There is a very
/ the daily texan staff
big difference there.” A complaint must be filed with a legal authority for a legal proceeding and potential criminal charges, according to the Title IX website. Booker said a faculty member found in violation of the University’s sexual misconduct policies may not have committed a firing offense. “Sexual misconduct is anything that is of a sexual nature and inappropriate for the learning and working environment,” Booker said. “It could be an inappropriate or offensive comment that happened one time.” Bakre said a respondent would face harsher disciplinary actions if they were found to be repeat violators of a University policy. “If it’s a repeat offender and another new allegation comes up … and it is found that the policy is violated, there are new sanctions that can be signed,” Bakre said.
CAMPUS
CAMPUS
Graduate Student Assembly in favor of weeklong Thanksgiving break
Students discuss unclear University academic integrity standards
By Neelam Bohra @neelambohratx
By Brooke Ontiveros
The Graduate Student Assembly proposed instituting a weeklong Thanksgiving or fall break at its meeting Wednesday. Students have two holidays during the fall semester — three days for Thanksgiving and one for Labor Day — according to the Office of the Registrar‘s website. The assembly supports adding two days to the fall semester holidays by either the addition of a four-day weekend during the semester, or extending Thanksgiving break to a week, said Kathryn Abercrombie, GSA legislative affairs director. “There are a bunch of reasons for this, one being mental health,” said Abercrombie, a public affairs and business administration graduate student. “The whole point is that we need to increase days off for the sanity of students, faculty and staff.” In the 2019-20 academic calendar, the spring semester has four more class days and one more day off than the fall semester, according to the Office of the Registrar’s website. Another reason the assembly proposed the resolution
After about 70 students were recommended for suspension or expulsion for using a class GroupMe in October, around 25 students discussed the University’s academic integrity policy with regard to collaborative technologies. The Liberal Arts Council held an open discussion Wednesday in the Beauford H. Jester Center to look into the University’s academic policy to potentially provide administration with concerns from the student body. Luna Malloy, co-chair of the College Ambassadors committee for the Liberal Arts Council, said the council has heard anecdotes from many students who have had disciplinary warnings from professors regarding their use of GroupMe and Google Docs. “The professor will announce that people are going to be investigated for cheating, and then something either does come up from it or it doesn’t,” said Malloy, a Plan II psychology sophomore. The University considers academic dishonesty to include unauthorized collaboration or collusion, and these actions will result in disciplinary action, according to the
@Brookexpanic
kidus solomon
/ the daily texan staff
The Graduate Student Assembly gathered together today in the WCP to propose a week long thanksgiving break. is the long periods of time between fall semester breaks. There are 85 days between Labor Day and the first day of Thanksgiving Break, according to the Office of the Registrar’s website. In comparison, spring break is 54 days into the semester, and 49 days away from the end of the semester, according to the Office of the Registrar’s website. The University Academic
Calendar Committee of the Faculty Council initially proposed adding two days to fall break, which GSA supported, according to the resolution. GSA Vice President Kathleen Holloway said GSA proposed a similar resolution four years ago, which led the Faculty Council to add the Wednesday before Thanksgiving to fall break. “Having a full week may be
hard,” said Holloway, a human development and family sciences doctoral student. “Faculty are set in their ways. They’ll say, ‘We just added Wednesday, why do we need to add more?’ But the (University Academic Calendar) Committee is talking about this, and they’re excited about us talking about it.” G R A D U A T E PAGE 2
College of Liberal Arts website. But the line between collaboration and collusion remains vague, and students do not know if membership in a GroupMe or a Google Doc constitutes collusion, Malloy said. Professors are often not explicit on their own academic integrity policy, and different professors
Students should know specifically what the exact rules are for each class.” ADEBAYO GBAKINRO computer science, spanish, french junior
may encourage collaboration while others could condemn it, Plan II sophomore Tarini Kumar said. “Professors can find 30 seconds to put in their syllabuses what they allow or not,” Kumar said. “We do syllabus days at the beginning of the semester anyway … In general, my professors are not as clear.” Adebayo Gbakinro, a I N T E G R I T Y PAGE 2