During the last Student Association meeting of the semester, members voted to pass a resolution in response to Title IX changes proposed earlier this year.

In November, the Department of Education proposed changes to Title IX guidelines that included narrowing the definition of sexual harassment. SA condemned the proposed changes, saying they restrict the rights of survivors and increase apprehension that already exists when reporting Title IX cases.

SA President Ghufran Salih said Monday night’s resolution was presented so students could be made aware of the proposed changes and the university can affirm its commitment to supporting survivors.

“We’re hoping that from this resolution that we can affirm our stance with sexual assault and relationship violence survivors and make sure that they have a place on this campus and we support them and that we’re going to advocate for them,” Salih said.

The definition of sexual harassment, which was previously “any unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature,” would be changed to a stricter definition that includes that the unwelcome conduct must be “so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the recipient’s education program or activity.”

Other proposed changes include mandatory live hearings in which an accused person’s lawyer can cross-examiner the accuser. The changes also consider giving colleges the option to not be held liable for sexual harassment unless a formal complaint is submitted.

The resolution proposed by SA also calls upon the university to communicate with the student body to inform students on how to submit comments and reiterate resources available.

“This resolution is there to support us in advocating for the students to the people who need to hear it,” Salih said.

Other business:

• A motion was passed to approve a final design for safety cards that will include contact information for the Department of Public Safety, a graphic of the LiveSafe app and logos of SA and the Graduate Student Organization. Cards will be distributed around the university area, in dorms and at off-campus locations in partnership with DPS to increase safety awareness with the student body.

Published on December 3, 2018 at 11:18 pm

Contact Jaspreet: jgill01@syr.edu