13% of undergraduate and graduate students in the United States experience rape or sexual assualt by way of violence, physical force, or incapatication, according to a study conducted by RAINN. That is 2,600,000 of the estimated 20 million current college students that are in the United States.
Sexual violence and harrassment greatly affects college students on a regular basis.. Fortunately, most colleges offer resources to help students report these issues, learn how to respond in the event sexual violence or harrassment might be occurring, and counseling for victims. All New York state colleges must follow the Enough is Enough law, a rule that requires all New York colleges and universities to have a set of guidelines regarding sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking, a “uniform definition of affirmative consent, a statewide amnesty policy for bystanders or victims who report sexual assault, a students’ bill of rights,” and enforce campus climate surveys and prevention and awareness training, according to NY.gov.
At The New School, there are a variety of resources that students can use if they have experienced sexual violence or harrassment, or know someone who has. These resources include team of staff who are dedicated to investigating reports, a mandatory training program for all students and faculty that teaches New School community members about how to identify and react to situations of sexual violence or harrassment, and counselling services.
Rhonnie Jaus,the Title XI Coordinator and Vice President for Equal Employment Opportunity, Affirmative Action and Compliance at The New School. For this role, Jaus said it is her job to “monitor all complaints of discrimination based on sex and gender occuring at the university.”
Jaus mainly handles cases regarding faculty, staff, or third parties. Unlike Jaus, Cassita Charles-Bowie, the Student Title IX Investigator, focuses on student complaints, and employee complaints that involve students. Along with the rest of the Title XI team, they work together to make sure that all reports are investigated, and that all parties have whatever services they need to help them through the process.
The reporting process can be initiated in three different ways. Students or faculty can email either Charles-Bowie, or Rhonnie Jaus, or use the anonymous reporting form to file complaints. Complaints can involve cases of sexual harassament, sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking.
After filing, victims are contacted by the Title XI office to set up a meeting to discuss the incident and gather information in order to figure out how to proceed. Then, all witnesses are contacted for a separate meeting, in order to gather outside information of the incident. After the complainant and all witnesses have been questioned, the accused is called to be interviewed and asked to provide their own testimony and witnesses to support their account.
During the investigation process, Charles-Bowie and the rest of the Title XI team provide supportive services to both the victim and the accused. “Supportive measures are non-disciplinary, non-punitive services offered as appropriate, as reasonably available, and without fee or charge to the student(s),” said Charles-Bowie.
These measures can be academic deadline extensions, counseling services, modifications to work and class schedules, no contact orders, leave of absences, or increased security monitoring around campus.
For all allegations regarding a third party, or non New School members, complaints are sent to a community resource, according to Charles-Bowie. The New School has an advocate at Safe Horizon, a victim services nonprofit organization that provides services for victims of abuse and domestic violence, to help students connect with law enforcement, file police reports, obtain orders of protection, and other necessary procedures.
The New School says it takes reporting services quite seriously. The University requires all students and staff to complete a mandatory sexual assault and harassment training course. Provided by Everfi, this training course provides students and faculty with information on how to intervention techniques to use if they think someone they know is being sexually abused; it teaches students and faculty about actions that are classified as sexual assault or sexual harrassment are. It explains the difference between consent and coercion, and teaches ways to respond to cases and report cases of sexual abuse, harrasment, or assult as well. According to Jaus, this course is required to be taken annually by all students and faculty in order to keep our New School community safe and aware of these situations.
Charles-Bowie, Jaus, and the rest of the Title XI team want students to be equipped with the knowledge to assess situations of sexual assault, sexual violence, harrasment, or domestic disputes, in order to safely report these situations and prevent them from happening in our New School community. “The aim of sexual assault prevention training is to prevent sexual violence and to create an environment that is safe and healthy for the student body. The content is constantly being expanded and new information is added with every training,” said Charles-Bowie.
For more information regarding Title XI policies and resources, visit https://www.newschool.edu/title-ix/. Charles-Bowie can be reached at charlesc@newschool.edu and Jaus can be reached at jausr@newschool.edu To file an anonymous report, use the https://www.pavesuite.com/Newschool/PublicPortal/AcademicMisconductIncident.