Student Body President invited to White House to discuss Title IX recommendation
March 18, 2015
Student Body President Mitch Dickey is one of many student body presidents invited to the White House to discuss a recommendation regarding Title IX conduct hearings with the Office of Civil Rights officials in April.
Title IX is a federal civil right, which serves to counter sexual discrimination in education and addresses acts of sexual violence.
Dickey and other student body presidents signed a letter, written by the student body president of Ohio State University, in support of student adjudicators on Title IX conduct hearing panels.
In 2014, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights suggested students be removed as adjudicators in sexual assault hearings at universities. The current system allows students, along with faculty, to serve on the panels after undergoing training.
In April, the University’s Office of Student Conflict Resolution will present a proposal to the Academic Senate’s Committee on Student Discipline about how to change Title IX’s conduct hearing procedures to comply with recommendations from the Department of Education, said Matt Hill, vice president-external.
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
“We’ve spoken with the Office of Student Conflict Resolution, but they could not provide us with details about whether or not we’ll be removing students or faculty from that process,” Hill said.
Dickey and Hill said they fear the recommendation will result in the removal of students from the hearings.
Dickey said the University’s options are limited in terms of the recommendation made by the Department of Education and they will likely have to comply if the recommendation remains in place; however, he is hoping to change that.
“We disagree with that (recommendation), knowing that students play a critical role on how the student discipline process works,” Dickey said. “We’re trying to get the Department of Education to change the recommendation. The University is going to follow the guidance suggested by the Department of Education, so we’re not fighting the University on it, they’re caught between a rock and a hard place.”
Mehwish Khan, freshman in LAS, said she agrees with the student senate’s commitment to shared governance in terms of students serving on Title IX conduct hearing panels.
“I don’t think it’s fair because it’s an issue that pertains to students so I definitely think they should have a say in managing that kind of an issue,” Khan said.
