Students’ Association Minutes
February 4, 2016
Meeting commenced: 9:35pm
Special Guests Morgan Levy & Kristin Hocker
§ In an effort to better address issues of sexual misconduct that occur at the University, a series of conversations with students across the various campuses has been occurring – tonight is the Eastman conversation. The University’s Title IX Coordinator Morgan Levy is joined by Kristin Hocker and John Hain in leading the conversation. After last year’s attempt to gather information via online survey garnered less than satisfactory results, face-to-face conversations have been determined to be more effective at gathering data.
§ It is difficult to determine student perceptions of how the University handles sexual misconduct – some suggested that the Dean for Residential Life and the Title IX Deputy Coordinator (for now, Dean Hain) are the best starting points. From there, meetings could follow to determine what, if any, institutional action needs to be taken.
§ One major obstacle is that Eastman is separated from the main campus, and is thus not as well informed about what to do in these situations. Eastman students can, paradoxically, feel further isolation due to the smallness and the closeness of the community here. Another problem is not Eastman-specific, but cultural – victims (case in point – the pejorative nature of the word victim) of sexual misconduct often feel ashamed or embarrassed, and are not comfortable speaking out. In an attempt to solve this problem, more efforts have been made over the past year to differentiate between confidential and private resources. Specifically, students need to know which faculty members they can speak to without having to have the conversation go further. What is most important to know is this: the University does not have an agenda beyond helping its students in their moment of need. This message needs to be communicated more frequently and more effectively.
§ Some positive things – the “Stop” signs on restrooms have been replaced with blue circles, which are more reassuring. (Note: in many restrooms, the “Stop” signs have yet to be removed.) UCC is hiring another employee for next year, although Eastman will likely still be UNDERSERVED in this regard.
§ Finding resources can be a problem for students – in an effort to combat this, the website (http://rochester.edu/sexualmisconduct) has been updated and reorganized to better meet student needs, including a new area called “Helping a Friend” and an online proxy reporting service.
§ Obviously, much effort needs to be put into training, education, and awareness: there is, of course, the required Haven course on Blackboard and, new this year, a Title IX Orientation program. Some students report dissatisfaction with the Haven course, feeling it oversimplified and made light of very serious issues. Most people cannot even remember taking the course, which in itself suggests a serious problem. On the flip side, there was some positive response, for the fact that these issues are being addressed at all is promising.
§ It was suggested that social media is being underutilized – most students get a lot of their information this way. Perhaps the University could increase their presence with listicles, etc. The difficulty here is in not losing the interest of students by being “University approved.”
§ One important area needing attention is bystander intervention – as this was news to those attending, clearly more effort needs to be placed here. Largely, students feel that being as well-informed as possible is the best way to be prepared. The difficulty is in disseminating information – perhaps there could be a training workshop at the beginning of the semester, which would reach student leaders, but would probably not be effective at reaching out to the student body as a whole. Meeting in person is more direct, engaging, and ultimately successful than online learning. But there is no venue for group meetings - SA meetings are not well attended. Further, Eastman’s model (or lack thereof) of student leadership means that students tend not to think hierarchically. Every individual student will want/need a different support group/person. In short, it’s extraordinarily difficult to create an institutional policy for a highly individual issue.
§ With regards to Equal Opportunities, Spectrum reported that on the whole, reception has been positive and they have felt no institutional discrimination. Every time a project has been undertaken, face-to-face interactions have gone very well, although there has always been some (perhaps expected) red tape to cut through.
§ Dean Rossi wanted to make sure everyone was up to date on the recent news regarding the Return of Kings meetup event. It has since been cancelled, and the University was ready to meet any security concerns.
Soccer Club
§ Soccer Club is currently SA Recognized and Funded, but no longer has need of funding, so it is proposed that they be derecognized. Passed: 15 yea, 0 nay, 1 abstain. Soccer Club is now officially no longer SA Recognized or Funded.
Open Forum
§ In the last meeting, the possibility of adding a URos wedge to the SLC Lobby was raised. Evan followed this up with the appropriate people, and will meet with Alyssa and Dean Leigh on Monday to move forward. If approved, the cost will be approximately $2100.
§ As previously mentioned, SA Restructuring is in the works – check your email for more information!
Meeting adjourned: 10:35pm