What is Title IX?
Ana Risano | September 30, 2021
Quinn Bonney
Izzy Hyde (left) and Brecon Schumann (right), organizers for the sit-in, speaking at Dodge House.
Recently, confusion and frustration has been aired by the student body in relation to Title IX procedures on Warren Wilson College (WWC) campus. Last Wednesday, September 22, a meeting was held in response to allegations made against students and administrators on the WWC app, a social media platform for Warren Wilson members. On September 24, a student-organized sit-in was held at Dodge House to share the concerns of students and provide a space for people to share their experiences.
One first-year, Kana Parker, explains an issue students face when navigating the Title IX process.
“I keep hearing that Warren Wilson cannot take action because formal complaints have not been made and many students spoke up at that meeting that reports were made to RAs,” said Parker. “Title IX states that faculty and staff are mandatory reporters. I don’t see how no formal complaints have been made.”
Title IX is a federal law that was enacted in 1972 to prevent discrimination on the basis of biological sex in educational institutions recieving federal aid. It stems from the lack of opportunities available for female athletes in the 1900s. Title IX, essentially, calls for equality and has been extrapolated to include other forms of discrimination against sex, including sexual harassment, assault, stalking, dating violence and domestic violence.
WWC’s Title IX procedures, documented in a PDF that is 97 pages long, detail what qualifies for adjudication and what does not through the Title IX system. Below is WWC’s rationale for Title IX, which can be found on the website.
“Warren Wilson College is committed to providing a workplace and educational environment, as well as other benefits, programs, and activities, that are free from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation. To ensure compliance with federal and state civil rights laws and regulations, and to affirm its commitment to promoting the goals of fairness and equity in all aspects of the educational program or activity, Warren Wilson College has developed internal policies and procedures that provide a prompt, fair, and impartial process for those involved in an allegation of discrimination or harassment on the basis of protected class status, and for allegations of retaliation. Warren Wilson College values and upholds the equal dignity of all members of its community and strives to balance the rights of the parties in the grievance process during what is often a difficult time for all those involved.”
Becca Boyton, a first-year student interested in majoring in history, shares how Title IX appears to students.
“It is a long process, basically making you relive your trauma,” said Boyton.
To break down the process, there are essentially three major steps. The first step involves contacting the Title IX coordinator, Tacci Smith, the interim dean of students. Smith is a mandatory reporter (see glossary) and examines whether someone’s story meets the exact criteria set forth by the federal government. In other words, she does not judge the case, merely states whether a Title IX investigation can be opened.
These guidelines include details of what is considered to be discrimination, sexual assult, harassment, etc. The rules are very specific and address the interplays of additional details, such as the use of substances. Smith notes that these guidelines have ever-changing components because the United States president gets to change the policy.
“Title IX, because it is federal, the difficult thing is that it becomes a political thing,” Smith said. “Every presidential person gets to weigh in about changes on it.”
Smith also stresses that, if the described situation does not meet the criteria for Title IX, the case can be examined through WWC’s code of conduct.
“(The code of conduct) is more inclusive of all of college life, so in the both sexual and nonsexual violations, it’s not a loophole but, in some ways, is always the first step,” said Smith. “If a violation occurred, yep, that meets our code of conduct pretty easily. It’s whether or not it goes to the level of Title IX.”
The code of conduct encompasses a wider range of details than Title IX, so someone can be held accountable for something such as an unwanted touch that does not fit into the criteria for a Title IX case, explained Smith. The code of conduct includes sections on alcohol and drug use, disruptive behaviors, fire safety, hate crimes and consensual relations. Residence Life staff follow-up with students on issues of misconduct.
The second step, if the incident follows the guidelines for a Title IX case, involves an investigation. All involved parties meet with an investigator; RJ Chittams, associate dean of student life and director of residence life, is the current investigator for WWC. Chittams is responsible for gathering all of the evidence and writing a comprehensive report that includes all of the facts.
“Only part of the process that I don't do is determine if someone is responsible or guilty,” said Chittams.
The report is then sent to decision makers — the last step. Decision makers are third-party individuals on campus — currently only staff and faculty — that are trained to look at the evidence and make a decision on the case. The decision makers may also interview the involved parties. If necessary, an off-campus party may be called in to deliberate on the matter.
There are further technicalities with Title IX and sharing one’s story. Some of these include language usage, jurisdiction and timeliness of reports. In regards to language, one cannot make a report and request for it to be confidential. If needing to talk to someone that is not a mandated reporter, see the list of confidential sources below. Smith must report what has been told to her. If an incident happens off-campus or with individuals not associated with WWC, the incident may not be able to be filed through the school.
Students, in the prior case, and in general, do not have to go through WWC’s federally mandated system; individuals may go through a court system instead of, or in addition to, going through the Title IX procedures.
Overall, many students just want to feel safe on campus and in community with each other.
“I want to see students feeling safe in their spaces and I want the administration to change the old direction they were going in to create a better system,” said Jax Owens, senior and member of Farm Crew.
Resources:
Confidential sources: Mariel Epstein-Olsen, Rachel Keefe, Mark Akerman, Luce Beagle, Alex Bounds, Taylor Walker, Shannon Spencer and Matt Hoffman (all of whom can be contacted by email)
24-Hour Crisis Hotline: (828) 255-7576
Information & Referral Textline:
Text VOICE to 85511
Envié VOZ a 85511 por Español
24-Hour Hotline: (828) 254-0516
Queer Resource Center - qrc@warren-wilson.edu
WWC also puts out an annual report called the Jeanne Clery Act. This is a report on crime and campus security. It lists the number of crimes reported on campus and the security policies of WWC. For 2017-2019, the WWC Clery report can be found here.
Glossary:
Advisor: a person chosen by a party or appointed by the institution to accompany the party to meetings related to the resolution process, to advise the party on that process, and to conduct cross-examination for the party at the hearing, if any.
Complainant: an individual who is alleged to be the victim of conduct that could constitute harassment or discrimination based on a protected class; or retaliation for engaging in a protected activity.
Complaint (formal): a document submitted or signed by a Complainant or signed by the Title IX Coordinator alleging harassment or discrimination based on a protected class or retaliation for engaging in a protected activity against a Respondent and requesting that Warren Wilson College investigate the allegation.
Confidential Resource: an employee who is not a Mandated Reporter of notice of harassment, discrimination, and/or retaliation (irrespective of Clery Act Campus Security Authority status). Directly Related Evidence: evidence connected to the complaint, but is neither inculpatory (tending to prove a violation) nor exculpatory (tending to disprove a violation) and will not be relied upon by the investigation report.
Education Program/Activity: locations, events, or circumstances where Warren Wilson College exercises substantial control over both the Respondent and the context in which the sexual harassment or discrimination occurs and also includes any building owned or controlled by a student organization that is officially recognized by Warren Wilson College.
Final Determination: a conclusion by preponderance of the evidence that the alleged conduct did or did not violate policy.
Finding: a conclusion by preponderance of the evidence that the conduct did or did not occur as alleged (as in a “finding of fact”). 2 July 2020 version. ©ATIXA.
Formal Grievance Process: “Process A,” a method of formal resolution designated by Warren Wilson College to address conduct that falls within the policies included below, and which complies with the requirements of the Title IX regulations (34 CFR §106.45).
Grievance Process Pool: any investigators, hearing officers, appeal officers, and Advisors who may perform any or all of these roles (though not at the same time or with respect to the same case).
Hearing Decision-maker/Panel: those who have decision-making and sanctioning authority within Warren Wilson College’s Formal Grievance process.
Investigator: the person or persons charged by Warren Wilson College with gathering facts about an alleged violation of this Policy, assessing relevance and credibility, synthesizing the evidence, and compiling this information into an investigation report and file of directly related evidence.
Mandated Reporter: an employee of the Warren Wilson College who is obligated by policy to share knowledge, notice, and/or reports of harassment, discrimination, and/or retaliation with the Title IX Coordinator.1
Notice: an employee, student, or third-party informs the Title IX Coordinator or other Official with Authority of the alleged occurrence of harassing, discriminatory, and/or retaliatory conduct.
Official with Authority (OWA): an employee of Warren Wilson College explicitly vested with the responsibility to implement corrective measures for harassment, discrimination, and/or retaliation on behalf of the College.
Parties: the Complainant(s) and Respondent(s), collectively.
Process A: the Formal Grievance Process detailed below and defined above.
Process B: the administrative resolution procedures detailed in Appendix F that apply only when Process A does not, as determined by the Title IX Coordinator.
Recipient: a postsecondary education program that is a recipient of federal funding. 1 Not to be confused with those mandated by state law to report child abuse, elder abuse, and/or abuse of individuals with disabilities to appropriate officials, though these responsibilities may overlap with those who have mandated reporting responsibility in this Policy. 3 July 2020 version. ©ATIXA.
Relevant Evidence: evidence that tends to prove or disprove an issue in the complaint.
Remedies: post-finding actions directed to the Complainant and/or the community as mechanisms to address safety, prevent recurrence, and restore access to Warren Wilson College’s educational program.
Respondent: an individual who has been reported to be the perpetrator of conduct that could constitute harassment or discrimination based on a protected class; or retaliation for engaging in a protected activity.
Resolution: the result of an informal or Formal Grievance Process.
Sanction: a consequence imposed by Warren Wilson College on a Respondent who is found to have violated this policy.
Title IX Coordinator: at least one official designated by Warren Wilson College to ensure compliance with Title IX and Warren Wilson College’s Title IX program. References to the Coordinator throughout this policy may also encompass a designee of the Coordinator for specific tasks.
Title IX Team: the Title IX Coordinator, any deputy coordinators, and any member of the Grievance Process Pool.