Recent movements and a shift in the political climate have raised many questions about discrimination and abuse, inspiring Hofstra students to further integrate themselves into the Title IX initiative. Beginning in fall 2018, Hofstra will have a student-led Title IX Advisory Board that will coordinate with university administration, placing special emphasis on Title IX training for leadership positions on campus such as Resident Assistants and Orientation Leaders.
Emily Kilheeney, a senior journalism, political science and gender studies major and Kat Smith, a junior journalism and women’s studies major are the deputy and manager of the Student Board of Title IX at Hofstra, respectively. Kilheeney and Smith work closely with Allison Vernace, Title IX officer for Student Issues, and Denise Cunningham, Title IX officer for Employee Matters, to make sure that the policies of Title IX are as transparent as possible and ensuring that students feel comfortable with and are aware of resources that are available.
Smith said that the end goal for the campaign is to create more transparency between the administration and the student body.
“We want to ensure that there is as much access as possible for everyone to Title IX information and resources and any policy changes that occur,” Smith said. “This campus is doing something really notable.”
“The students came up with it themselves,” Vernace said. “They work closely with administrators to help construct a board that gives feedback on policies of Title IX and ways to better communicate information to students and better understand their rights and resources on and off campus.”
Vernace emphasized the importance of collaboration between students and administration, since the coherence between these two parties is vital for an efficient Title IX program.
Kilheeney explained that although students cannot change Title IX, the goal of this advisory board is to improve student knowledge and communication on campus. “[Title IX] is a federal mandate. We can’t change the law, but we can change the way that it is being implemented and taught on our own campus as well as the way students perceive Title IX,” Kilheeney said. “This increases the accessibility; if students trust the administration, we can use that resource.”
“We felt the need to engage students in these decisions that would be affecting them,” Kilheeney said. “It’s a resource that’s really important to the students, and we want to give them meaningful leadership roles within Title IX work.”
Advocates for Safer Sex, the Queer and Trans People of Color Coalition, Colligate Women of Color and the Campus Feminist Collective are also involved with this campaign. In addition, the campaign is partnering with Planned Parenthood at the university level, an organization with which both Smith and Kilheeney have been involved for nearly three years. They were recently invited to a Planned Parenthood national conference to discuss their ideas.
“I think that while most professors have a good sense of right and wrong in these sorts of cases, there is nothing like a college student’s empathy for another college student,” said Maggie Farese, a freshman video/television major. “There is always room for improvement, and student representatives on an e-board would be beneficial.”
The application deadlines were midnight on May 4, but regardless students are encouraged to reach out and become involved with initiatives being put into place and assist in increasing knowledge about Title IX specifics and guidelines. “Students should not only be at the discussion,” Smith said. “They should be leading the discussion.”
