Here’s the role Title IX plays in sexual assault accusations at BU

Boston University hosted a panel Tuesday night on new Title IX rules — including mandatory live hearings that cross-examine both the defendant and complainant — which took effect Aug. 14 at universities nationwide. 

BU Title IX Coordinator Kim Randall, one of four panelists, started the hour-long Zoom meeting with information about the differences between BU policy and national Title IX regulations. She said the live hearings are a primary way Judicial Affairs will be able to provide fair treatment. 

“We want to make sure that there’s no one who would automatically side with the complainant,” Randall said, “and no one who would automatically side with a respondent.”

A notable change in BU policy, Randall said, is under the formal Title IX process, students can no longer report an accusation anonymously.

“Title IX envisions a process that is open and that is transparent,” Randall said, “and that gives a respondent a right to know who the accuser is, whether the accuser is comfortable with that or not.”

All documents within Title IX cases are to be shared with both parties, regardless of relevancy to the case, Randall said.

Upon the report’s completion, each side will have another 10 days to respond in writing. These responses will go with the report when it moves to the hearing panel, where investigators determine whether anyone has violated BU policy.

Randall said although Title IX regulations have changed, BU will prohibit the same forms of sexual misconduct and uphold its definition of consent and retaliation. She added the reporting process remains intact: students can still report to various BU offices, such as the Dean of Students Office, or to faculty and staff who will notify a Title IX deputy coordinator.

For non-Title IX cases handled by the University, privacy measures will remain in place, and a respondent might not see documents submitted by the complainant that the University finds irrelevant to the case.

Title IX sexual misconduct, Randall said, now includes “quid pro quo sexual misconduct” and “conduct so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it effectively denies a person equal access to the university’s program or activity.”

An example of quid pro quo misconduct, she said, would be a professor offering a better grade to a student in exchange for a date.

Severe, pervasive or objectively offensive sexual crimes include sexual misconduct such as dating violence, domestic violence and stalking. These will need to be taken “very seriously,” Randall said, and the consequences could be anything from termination of employment to expulsion or suspension. 

“If a person is found responsible of conduct at this level,” Randall said, “it’s very likely to be an extremely serious outcome for that person.”

Less severe forms of sexual misconduct that fall under Title IX, Randall said, might include something that results in an individual’s denial of access to an educational program or activity. As an example, she said a student who drops a course due to sexual harassment might be a victim of this kind of misconduct.

Under non-Title IX cases, she said, a student does not need to fully remove themselves from the activity or program, but might simply be limited in their ability to feel safe in an environment because of the misconduct.

BU, however, will include sexual misconduct such as sexual assault and rape — including attempted cases — as well as sexual harassment in its policies outside Title IX.

Randall said whether Title IX or the University’s guidelines and case process should be used will depend on the situation. Cases that would definitively fall outside Title IX jurisdiction include if the incident happened outside a University program or activity, if the respondent is not under BU’s jurisdiction or if the incident happened outside the United States.

Cases that are not immediately apparent to be outside Title IX jurisdiction, Randall said, are investigated under Title IX at first. If it ultimately does not fall under Title IX, it will be  investigated under non-Title IX procedures. 

After an investigation is completed, Randall said, both parties will receive copies of a sanction report — but under Title IX, only the respondent can appeal, whereas in non-Title IX cases, both the respondent and the complainant have the opportunity to appeal.

Randall said she tried to “engage the community” when rewriting BU’s policies to fit with Title IX updates.

The panel then transitioned into a live Q-and-A. In response to questions on resources BU can provide survivors who might be in need of mental health support, Randall said BU Behavioral Medicine and SARP services offer support to any struggling students.

“Both of those services are very, very helpful at giving students support,” Randall said. “SARP in particular will actually go with students to meetings and other kinds of things that they might need to attend to.”

Multiple attendees questioned how Title IX regulations could change under President-elect Joe Biden’s administration, to which panelist Maureen O’Rourke, associate provost for Faculty Affairs, said she cannot speculate on these issues at this time.

“It’s a little bit too soon to anticipate changes,” O’Rourke said, “although again, we do know that this is a matter of interest to the president-elect.”

The panel ended with a brief note from Jennifer Grodsky, BU’s vice president for Federal Relations, about her upcoming program focused on gender-based discrimination.

Grodsky said a working group convened by the University Provost in 2019 put together a report on how to prevent gender-based harassment at BU and is now looking for feedback. She said conversations about this are different from those about Title IX.

“It’s thinking about our organizational climate: what does it feel like to be at BU?” Grodsky said. “What is our living and learning environment like? And what recommendations do we have to make sure that it’s safe for everyone in the BU community?”

Grodsky said she encourages all listeners to access the report online on the Office of the Provost website, and asks BU community members to attend the Monday meeting about the report.