*Editor’s note: The photos and photo captions accompanying this gallery have been taken down because they contained plagiarized content.
After the Department of Education recently announced their rewrite to Title IX, the law which prohibits sexual misconduct in education programs in the U.S., NC State students have taken initiative to express their opinions during the public comments period that will last until Jan. 28.
In the rewrite of the legislation, there are six key provisions that have been proposed.
Last Wednesday, Student Body President Jess Errico, a fifth-year studying mechanical and aerospace engineering, issued an executive order that would create a Student Action Group for the Proposed Changes to Title IX, intended to collect and share the NC State student body’s opinion on the proposal.
Errico explained that the goal of the executive order is simply to respond to and collect opinions from NC State students on the Title IX provisions during the public comment stage. To do this, Errico is calling for a Title IX comment writing party, following in the footsteps of the Women’s Center event that took place this Monday.
The executive order states that three initiatives will be taking place.
First, legislation will be written for the Association of Student Governments (ASG) for the UNC System. It will contain and work to inform the association of NC State students’ opinions.
According to Errico, surveys were sent out to the student body through The Howl and posts on Facebook.
Later on, a statement will be prepared to submit on behalf of NC State Student Government about the provisions. Errico wants the statement to reflect the NC State student body.
Since the federal government is required to respond to unique comments, according to Errico, the student action group that is to be created will send only one comment, which will attempt to be representative of the NC State student body as a whole as well as the voice of Student Government.
The student action group Errico recently created is led and chaired by Isabelle Babson, a fourth-year studying psychology and sociology and executive assistant of Errico’s executive cabinet. Babson is currently doing extensive research on the subject and is in charge of getting students who have an interest to participate in the action group.
According to Errico, the group will try to analyze the impact the proposed changes could have on a student studying at a public university. The group will then make an informed decision for a comment that advocates for NC State students.
“I’ve asked that the structure of their conversations come from places of informed and reliable information,” Errico said. “So, looking at what the Department of Education is putting out, looking at it straight on, but also looking at what are considered to be scholarly resources and using that to inform what they’re doing.”
Errico said that she hopes that the comment made by the action group will encourage more NC State students to submit their own unique comments to the federal government.
“I’m hoping there will be responses; I’m hoping students will be interested and feel as though they have a stake in what’s said,” Errico said. “My hope is that it will elicit and cause students to participate in the public comments period with the federal government because it has an obligation to respond to each unique comment and has an obligation to consider its implications on their proposed changes. I’m hoping that this will elicit even more student involvement in that process.”
In addition to the student action group and the ASG legislation, the executive order mandates that other groups organize an event that would help facilitate comments during the period.
As mentioned, the Women’s Center hosted a Title IX comment-writing party on Jan. 14, similar to the event Student Government is currently planning, to go over the proposed changes being made to the amendment, as well as share with students, faculty and staff how to submit public comments to the Department of Education.
Associate Director of the Women’s Center Janine Kossen believes this engaged community members at NC State and acted as an outlet for individuals to have their voice be heard.
“I think this is a great opportunity for students, faculty, staff and community members who have a stake in Title IX, which is really all of us, to make their voices heard,” Kossen said. “I know this is a 60-day comment period, so we have two weeks left, and it is really important for people to really think about the impacts and the implications of these proposed changes, not just generally but on specific populations, whether that is students of color, students with disabilities or LGBT students.”
Student Senate passed a resolution that would express support for students affected by sexual assault and state disapproval on the proposed Title IX changes.
Students who wish to submit their own comments can do so until Jan. 28.