University and Student Senate participate in public comment

Public comment for the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed overhaul of Title IX closed on Jan. 28, after being open to the public for 60 days as required by law.

The university was involved in two comments, one co-submitted with the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) and one co-submitted with the American Council on Education (ACE).

University Student Senate also cosigned a comment sent in by the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU). All three comments expressed concerns with the proposed changes.

The proposed changes include not allowing universities to address misconduct that occurred off-campus, allowing a person accused to cross-examine the accuser, giving the university the decision to use a higher standard of proof and taking away the 60-day timeframe of investigations.

These changes to Title IX were proposed in November 2018 after the Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos rescinded the Obama-era policy, called the Dear Colleague Letter, in September 2017.

Mary-Elaine Perry, Ph.D., Title IX coordinator, said one of the bigger changes in the proposal include the cross examination of the respondent and the complainant and the face-to-face hearings.

“We couldn’t use a single investigator model,” Perry said. “The hearings would need to be face-to-face, so both people in the same room. Both parties would be cross-examined by the opposing party’s advisor.”

Perry said the cross-examination could become imbalanced depending on who the respondent and complainant choose as advisors.

“If the complainant were to choose a chemistry professor and the respondent was to choose an attorney who knows how to cross-examine and pull apart an argument to get what they want, a chemistry professor doesn’t have that same skill set,” Perry said. “That makes it unbalanced. That is a huge change.”

The change would make the process more like a courtroom and less educational, according to Perry.

“If you go back to the very basics of the university’s adjudication process, we are educators,” Perry said.“We are here to educate people. We are not here to be a court of law and this guidance puts us in that place.”

University Student Senate (USS) cosigned a comment submitted by 75 other universities, 21 of which are Jesuit, from 32 states that addressed student concerns regarding the proposed changes.

Jason D’Antonio ’19, USS president, said he wanted to sign the letter because the proposed changes to Title IX directly affect students at St. Joe’s.

“This is something that we as a student body care a lot about here at Saint Joseph’s,” D’Antonio said. “We thought it was very critical that the Department of Education got our input. We’re here to represent the student body.”

D’Antonio said his biggest concern with the proposed changes is that universities would no longer be required to address incidents that are off-campus.

“There is a significant number of assaults and instances that occur off-campus,” D’Antonio said. “That should still be our concern.”

Gabby Loeser ’20, a member of Rape Education and Prevention Program (REPP), is concerned how the changes will affect those who come forward with complaints.

“It really does worry me,” Loeser said in an email. “It feels as if we are moving backward after fighting so hard to make these strides forward.”

A large concern with these changes is that it may dissuade people from coming forward who have been sexually abused or assaulted, according to Loeser.

“Knowing the psychology and trauma that survivors experience through education and first-hand experience, this will likely stop many people from coming forward,” Loeser said. “Having to face the person that sexually assaulted you will be like reliving your assault, it can cause you to experience flashbacks.”

Perry also predicted the changes will cause a decrease in reports.

“The more difficult it becomes through the process that’s proposed, the more difficult it will be,” Perry said. “It will keep people from making a report.”

Now that the public comments have closed, the next step is for the Department of Education to review and address all the comments and make the changes based on the data and arguments made.