Last night’s four-and-a-half-hour meeting of the Title IX Working Group was both substantive, as we continued our process of listening, and transitional, as we began the process of analyzing the information and input we have received to date.

We heard from representatives from Boe House (St. Olaf’s student counseling center) and the HOPE (Healing Outreach Prevention Education) Center in Faribault. We met again with students, including a number of members from our international and multicultural community. Several key discussion topics emanated from these meetings, including the need for greater support for SARN and better education about the Title IX reporting process and the range of resources that are available to students.

Working Group member and St. Olaf Professor of Social Work Susie Smalling ’97 presented a data analysis model that will help the group synthesize the information and input we have received through our confidential online submission form, comment cards from the May 5 student forum in the Lion’s Pause, individual and small group listening sessions, correspondence that has been shared with the Working Group, and information gathered during Working Group meetings. The data analysis model organizes the information and input, enabling us to identify trends and issue areas. Some of the themes that are emerging from the initial analysis include the need for more and better student training, clearer and more consistent communication, more accountability and feedback, clearer definitions of consent, and better defined roles for staff in the Title IX process.

Comments, ideas, and suggestions are still welcome and appreciated. Please submit them by May 31 so they are reflected in the data we use to develop our recommendations.

The Working Group also discussed two alumni accounts of sexual misconduct by former faculty members, which also highlight the importance of connecting the college’s Consensual Relations policy to the Title IX policy on sexual assault.

Leslie Gomez and Gina Smith from Pepper Hamilton were on campus this week and met with St. Olaf’s Title IX team. We benefitted immensely from Leslie’s valuable insight and ideas about St. Olaf’s Title IX process, which she shared during last night’s Working Group meeting.

During our meetings in the coming weeks, we will dive deeper into the important topics of affirmative verbal consent, the role intoxication plays in consent, barriers for reporting, and the process of adjudication.

As the academic year comes to a close, the Working Group remains committed to both our charge and the timeline that calls for a report to be shared with President Anderson and the entire St. Olaf community by July 15.

We have much more work to do, but continue to be energized by the incredible support and compassion of the St. Olaf community.

Tim Maudlin ’73
Chair, Title IX Working Group

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