February Monthly Meeting: Title IX Workshop
WLI had their first monthly meeting of the semester on Wednesday, February 9 in the CID Lounge. This meeting featured Lexi Morrison, SJU’s Director of the Office of Title IX and Equity Compliance. This office handles incidents and policies regarding harassment and discrimination, but in this session we focused on sexual misconduct. Lexi began the workshop with an overview of the resources and procedures that the Title IX office offers. She also informed us on the process to report an incident and taught us how to best support someone through the processor reporting and recovering.
Some key points of helpful info:
- For any and ALL medical emergencies, call 911!
- You can report an incident through the SJU Safe App
- All RAs and SJU faculty are mandated reporters, they are trained and more than willing to help you
- Confidential support resources: CAPS, REPP, Student Health, and Campus Ministry pastoral counselors
- When supporting someone who as been affected:
- remember to listen, not investigate
- validate their feelings (don’t over do it or try to minimize their experience)
- respect their privacy
- respect their choices about next steps
Lexi guided us through some tough scenarios and advised us on how to best handle them, as well as dispelling she myths about the process. One common misconception about the process after an incident is that the aggressor will automatically punished by law. This process is survivor driven, meaning the survivor can dictate what happens next. This could mean that a report is filed with SJU, with law enforcement, or another alternative resolution can be developed. But, Lexi reminded us that we can always receive support no matter how we want the rest of the process to go. SJU can help you with class schedule changes, counseling, housing modifications, public safety escorts, and more. We finished the workshop by breaking into small groups to discuss our questions and concerns. One of the biggest takeaways participants learned was that the best way for us to keep ourselves and our community safe is to be aware of our options and the resources available to us.
We encourage you to seek support if you have been affected by sexual misconduct or any type of violence. The links and resources below are available free to SJU students to learn more, to take action, or to get support. Feel free to share, and take care<3.
SJU Student Outreach and Support
Rape Education and Prevention Program (REPP)