In 2020, the newly-inaugurated Biden administration expressed a desire to overhaul Title IX, the federal legislation that forms the basis of how Higher Ed institutions handle issues of sexual discrimination and misconduct. This rework project coalesced as a response to the Trump administration’s changes to the document; changes which have been critiqued by Democratic lawmakers as introducing uncertainty into the nature of student’s rights and protections. Furthermore, the Biden administration is seeking to bring additional protections to the document for students of varying gender identities—a break from the sex-centered focus of the legislation’s current iteration.
The Department of Education had originally slated May 2023 as the target date for the proposed legislative rework, but this deadline was subsequently delayed to October 2023. It is now January 2024, and there is still no clear timeline for when we can expect the legislation to be finalized. Throughout this series of postponements, Title IX has remained a prescient social issue on campus, both for the student body and the administration. Recently, EMU’s Peer Educators, a student group whose advocacy centers on campus sexual safety, have created a campus climate survey regarding student experiences with the current Title IX system in place here at EMU. So far, this survey has received 41 respondents, a number that has far exceeded the expectations of the student-led group. I spoke with Sarah Moore, a fourth-year student and long-time member of Peer Educators, about this welcomed success.
“I am extremely proud of the engagements we’ve had with the Title IX survey”, Moore shared. “The student body has shown that they believe this issue needs to be addressed, and that the system has flaws that people have to live through”. Moore then remarked that her hope was that this data would spark a larger conversation on campus, which itself may manifest in substantive policy change in the future. The QR code for the survey can be found in Common Grounds.
Concurrently, the administrative body of EMU has begun thinking ahead to the long-awaited federal rework, and how they will reshape their current process in accordance with the new guidance from the Biden Administration. I spoke with Shannon Dycus, Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students, about this planning process, and what the student body can expect.
“Once we receive the finalized Title IX policy, the administration will meet with our legal counsel to explore what the resulting campus policy could look like” Shannon explained.
“It’s hard for us to make any solid commitments regarding EMU policy when we don’t have the new federal legislation to inform our plans. We’ve discussed some potential shifts in staffing roles, but nothing is concrete yet”.
Shannon and I then discussed the nature of the Biden Administration’s reworked Title IX, including its inclusion of guidance regarding instances of discrimination and violence related to LGBTQ+ identity.
“Understanding overlapping identities is crucial to the policy work we want to do” Shannon shared with me.
Though the exact future of Biden’s Title IX legislation is murky, people from all facets of the EMU community are forming connections and facilitating dialogue to explore what a safer, more equitable campus could look like.
Disclaimer: I, Will Blosser, am a current, active member of Peer Educators. As such, I have a personal involvement in the topics expressed within this piece. To combat any subconscious conflict of interest or bias, this article has been made available for proofreading and rectification/clarification to both parties represented within (Shannon Dycus and Sarah Moore).
