Victims of sexual misconduct will soon have a support system on campus comprised solely of students.
The UF Office of Title IX Compliance is creating a student advisory board, said Russell Froman, the UF Title IX coordinator. The board will start off with 10 UF students appointed annually.
Title IX is a federal mandate for all federally funded institutions to set up a support system for victims of sexual misconduct, Froman said. It provides prevention education programs, support and investigations to lead to the elimination of sexual assault.
“The purpose of why I created [the board] was to get students involved in the process, to include their voice and how we can meet their needs better,” he said.
The positions are unpaid because they are voluntary, Froman said.
Froman said he started thinking about creating this board about two months ago. About 40 students applied to the board.
The office is interviewing students, who include members from the upcoming freshman class to graduate students.
“I realized we could use more student feedback on how we can make reporting easier and how we could provide more support,” Froman said. “And who could best tell us that than the students themselves?”
Duties of the student advisory board will include offering advice and guidance to students using Title IX resources in order to make them more comfortable, Froman said. Members of the board will also present ideas on how to make information easier to access and work on outreach events.
“The ultimate goal is to completely eliminate sexual misconduct,” he said. “If we can ever get there, that’d be a happy day. I hope this board helps us to continue to provide better services for students and support for students around Title IX issues.”
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has proposed major changes to Title IX that would restore due process protections for students accused of sexual assault, according to the Associated Press.
When Title IX passed in Congress in 1972, it prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex. Since then, Title IX has been referenced in lawsuits that have expanded its protections, including protecting individuals from sexual harassment.
The proposed changes have been met with controversy from victim advocacy groups, Democratic politicians and the American Civil Liberties Union, according to AP.
Hayliy Johnson, a 21-year-old UF senior, said the new student advisory board sounds like a good idea based on the climate of the last couple years. She also thinks it could be problematic because the students may not be fully objective.
“I think having a student advisory board would be helpful in that you get to see things from a student,” she said. “But, depending on how the student advisory board is picked, they might have certain biases that may not be beneficial for the whole Student Body.”
