National Title IX regulations to affect definitions of sexual assault

Recently, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos proposed new Title IX regulations regarding how schools deal with sexual misconduct. In November of 2018, DeVos officially announced her proposal. The proposal would restrict administrators to investigating only certain incidents, like assaults, that happen on campus, meaning schools would have fewer Title IX cases. It would also narrow the definition of sexual assault and harassment.

Hofstra University’s Title IX Office hosted the National Week of Action, which began on Monday, Sept. 23, and Domestic Violence Awareness Week, which began on Monday, Oct. 14, to educate students on sexual abuse and relationship violence.

“We’ve hosted National Week of Action where we encouraged students to sign the ‘It’s On Us’ pledge, learn more about off-campus resources that support survivors and ways they can support a friend,” said Allison Vernace, the Title IX Officer for Student Issues. “We’ve also hosted Domestic Violence Awareness Week where students could show support for survivors of domestic violence, learn more about warning signs of an abusive relationship and heal through re-creating broken pieces of pottery with gold glue, called Kintsugi.”

According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, 11.2% of college students experience rape or sexual assault through means of physical force, violence or incapacitation during their time in college. RAINN also mentions that students are at an increased risk during the first few months of their first and second semesters. Kathleen Lieblich, the assistant director of Student Advocacy and Prevention at Hofstra, discussed how her department is educating and guiding students and other members of the Hofstra community about and through sexual and domestic violence.

“Student Advocacy and Prevention Awareness has a strong commitment to supporting and educating the Hofstra community around the topic of sexual violence and domestic violence,” Lieblich said. “Student Advocacy and Prevention Awareness hosts programming throughout the year on sexual violence and domestic violence, including providing resources for survivors, offering support and educating the Hofstra community on how to be more aware and recognize signs so they can best protect themselves and support survivors.”

The Safe Center LI works closely with Hofstra, along with other colleges, on issues related to sexual and interpersonal violence. A combination of two former non-profit agencies that separately served the victims of domestic and child abuse, The Safe Center LI is located in Bethpage in Nassau County and offers services that range from counseling to housing for trauma victims. DJ Rosenbaum, the campus education coordinator for the organization, described what The Safe Center LI does to comfort sexual assault victims.

“The Safe Center offers many services to victims of sexual assault including counseling (one-on-one and group) and advocacy. When a victim of sexual assault goes to a hospital in Nassau County, our advocates respond,” Rosenbaum said. “With regard to college students who are victimized, our campus sexual assault advocate becomes involved and our sexual assault counselor stands ready to provide counseling. When necessary, the counselor will provide one-on-one trauma-informed counseling to the student directly on their campus.”

One student felt that the proposal from DeVos is unfair to students. “I do not agree that sexual assault cases should only be restricted to those that happen on campus,” said a junior public relations major. “There is a higher risk of students experiencing sexual assault at a party or similar environment, and if two students assault each other or if one student is involved in the assault, the university should still be responsible and offer support to their students.”

Another Hofstra student explained how narrowing the definition of sexual assault could be a disaster in the future because it would give universities too much power.

“I don’t like this proposal because if the definition of sexual assault is narrowed, it will allow universities to turn a blind eye to other forms of assault that could still be defined as sexual assault,” said Michael Gabbadon, a sophomore sociology major. “The definition of sexual assault should be made by the victim, not those evaluating the case.”