Students removed from board, protest for survivor support

In the wake of the Title IX complaint filed against the University of Toledo, several changes have been proposed and enacted, with varying levels of approval from staff and students.

According to a UT press release, Interim President Nagi Naganathan spoke to the Board of Trustees on the upcoming and completed changes at its Academic and Student Affairs Committee Meeting on Oct. 20. He announced the contracting of Bisi Okubadejo, former supervisory general attorney with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, to review UT’s response to sexual misconduct and matters concerning Title IX.

“Ms. Okubadejo recently conducted a similar review at the University of Cincinnati,” Naganathan said, “and I believe this overview is consistent with The University of Toledo’s commitment to creating a culture of sexual assault prevention as well as a culture where survivors are encouraged to come forward and are well-supported through medical, academic, counseling, law enforcement and other resources.”

UT’s Student Senate recently passed a resolution calling for students to be taken off the student code of conduct adjudication panel for any cases concerning sexual misconduct or Title IX complaints. UT has dictated that instead, a single panel of specially trained faculty and staff will hear the cases.

These staff members are not the only ones who have been specially trained; Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Kaye Patten Wallace and Associate Vice President for Human Resources and Talent Development Jovita Thomas-Williams underwent a week of advanced Title IX training. Another dozen UT employees took part in a training organized by the Ohio Attorney General’s office and led by Okubadejo last month.

“Based on these sessions, it is clear that many of the best practices across the nation are already part of current UT processes, including strong partnerships with external organizations and law enforcement. However, no process is perfect, and we are always striving to improve,” Naganathan said.

Some, however, think that these changes are not enough.

An open letter to the UT President and Board of Directors was penned by Toledo Take Back the Night, UT Feminist Alliance and UT’s Women and Gender Studies Department, and was left under administration’s door on Monday, Oct. 20.

The letter made three main demands:

• expulsion of the UT perpetrators found responsible by the Conduct Board,
• expansion of the Sexual Assault Education and Prevention Program, including a full-time coordinator, fully-trained advocates and private office space, and
• an independent investigation of Kevin West and Kaye Patten Wallace regarding their treatment of survivors, students and staff.

Monday night, a protest was held concerning the demands presented to administration.

“We are gathering here today to stand in solidarity with the survivor who filed the Title IX complaint against the university and also with survivors, other survivors on campus and the community and nation-wide to demand changes be made to the way sexual assault cases are handled on our campus, from a top-down approach so in terms of policy and in terms of leadership…” said Lauren Merrell, a trained advocate from a local rape crisis center and UT alum.

Students, alums and community members, along with the groups that wrote the letter, were present at the protest.

Lavelle Ridley, president of Spectrum UT, was at the protest in support of the survivors and of the writers of the open letter.

“As a student, I’m here because I stand with UTFA, and the Department of Women and Gender Studies, to stand with the survivors who have suffered or experienced sexual assault or abuse, because it’s unacceptable that the perpetrators of these crimes on and off our campus are able to go off without being punished deservedly, and that survivors have to go through a more tedious process than what they should have to get justice, to get support, to get advocacy.”

Patten Wallace said that the protestors share the same goals with the administration.

“…I think it’s important we share a common goal, and that is to make sure that UT students are educated, that they’re safe and that they have the information they need to prevent sexual assault, and then in the event that sexual assaults occur, that we take immediate action and provide the services and the support and the discipline that’s necessary,” Patten Wallace said. “We’re talking about university commitment. I’m excited that the students are excited about it, because they play a major role in terms of creating the culture where there’s not sexual assault.”