Friday, September 21, 2012

9/11 Brown Bag: Colgate's Title IX and Sexual Misconduct Policies


The Brown Bag on 9/11/12 was about Colgate’s Title IX and Sexual Misconduct Policies. The panel included Sheila Johnson-Willis, Lyn Rugg, Kim Taylor, and Jen Servedio. The brown bag was necessary because it allowed communication between the administration and students about bias, sexual assault, harassment, disabilities, and such. The conversation was fluid and people seemed comfortable and were more concerned about whether or not the school would take their complaints seriously. The panel did a great job in quelling the misconceptions and apprehensions people have toward filing complaints (which can be done anonymously).  However, much of the topics discussed dealt with harassment. Professor Loe brought up an incident of harassment where a woman was encircled at the Jug by a group of men, who were chanting for her to expose her breasts. This led to a heated and humorous discussion about environments like the Jug that foster harassment and other practices. I think that people were able to express that they do feel uncomfortable at times on this campus and the panel  was very receptive to these concerns. I think that we have come far from when I was a Firstyear; however, I think that there are resources that still need to be made available to Colgate students. I was shocked to hear that the Hamilton's hospital and Colgate's Health Center are not able to administer a rape kit test. A survivor of sexual assault would have to be bused to Syracuse. I think that if Colgate could work on getting more resources for survivors closer to home then this would maybe encourage more people to come forward. What do you think???

To read more about Title IX and Sexual Misconduct Policies, Check out these links:

More Info!

Even MORE Info!


     ~Natalie George 

1 comment:

  1. I agree that Colgate should work to improve the resources it has available to help those who have been raped or sexually assaulted. The fact that students need to go to Syracuse for a rape test kit is unacceptable and very discouraging. It seems like Colgate has done a great deal recently to make reporting sexual assault easier on campus but there is still more that can be done. I also feel that the attitude surrounding sexual assault on campus needs to change. If students feel that their peers will look down upon them for reporting an incident then they are more likely to keep silent. This could be improved with more education about sexual assault on campus.

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