1

Title IX: Sexual Assault at

Pennsylvania State University

Sarah Hershey

2
Meet Jillian. The girl next door. The girl you exchanged hellos with in the hallway.

The girl in your Thomas 100 lecture class. The girl who was raped. Jillian was a Penn
State student who was hanging out with her friends at a party and just trying to relax from
the stressful semester she was currently in. A cute boy she had never met before
gravitated towards her and spent all night being friendly and even getting her a drink or
two. Unfortunately, this is when it started to get fuzzy. Jillian immediately knew
something was off as she was lead upstairs by the boy and couldnt do anything to stop it.
She didnt want this to happen; every part of her body knew this was a mistake, yet she
had lost all control. The boy threw her on the bed, tore off her clothes and raped her
(Gordon, Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Telling My Story).
THE PROBLEM

Last year alone, twenty-four sexual assault cases were reported at Pennsylvania
State University Park. This year that number is expected to rise (Fleming, Sexual
Assault Task Force Releases Findings, Sweeping Recommendations). These statistics
are rising on the national level as well with the number of sexual assaults increasing by
fifty percent from the previous year
(Anderson,

Statistics

Show

U.S.

College Reports of Sex Offenses Are

Rising"). One in five female college
students
sexual

have
assault

reported
(Fleming,

attempted
Sexual

Assault Task Force Releases Findings,

Sweeping Recommendations). Action needs to be taken in order to prevent the further

occurrence of sexual assaults here at Penn State. To accomplish this task, greater
attention must be brought to following the responsibilities regarding sexual assault
prevention under Title IX.
Penn State needs to do a better job of addressing Title IX and the obligations the
school has associated with it. Title IX is a federal civil rights law that outlaws
discrimination in educational activities based upon sex. It requires equality in every
aspect of education and strives to create a
healthy environment for learning ("Title IX
and Sexual Violence in Schools). Sexual
harassment impairs this idea by fostering a
hostile environment that hinders a students
ability to fully access his or her educational
opportunities. Under Title IX, schools must
have a preventive system, an established
procedure for handling sexual assault situations, a Title IX Coordinator, and more ("How
to Comply With the Dept. of Ed's Title IX Sexual Violence Guidance).

THE DEFINITION

The first step in addressing the problem is defining it. Penn State defines sexual
assault as an event that occurs when a person engages in sexual intercourse or deviate
sexual intercourse with a complainant without the victims Effective Consent ("Penn
State's Response to Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Sexual Assault and Stalking).

The consent has to be freely given and mutual between the two partners. When the act of
intercourse is not consented, then sexual assault has occurred. Sometimes the victim will
then report it to University Police.
However most assaults are not reported,
which leads to a skewed total number
(Thomas, "Penn State Student Takes a
Stand Against Sexual Assault").

THE SOLUTION: TITLE IX COORDINATOR

Penn State must hire a full-time Title IX Coordinator. As of today Penn State has
employed Dr. Kenneth Lehrman III 1 as the schools part-time Title IX coordinator.
(Fleming, "Sexual Assault Task Force Releases Findings, Sweeping Recommendations").
Title IX states that all educational institutions that receive federal funding2 must appoint a
person to this position to fulfill the duties of overseeing how the school handles issues of
sex discrimination ("How to Comply With the Dept. of Ed's Title IX Sexual Violence
Guidance). Penn State is technically following the rules since there is a coordinator,
even though he is only part-time. The school needs to dedicate itself more fully to Title
IX and its prevention methods by hiring a full-time employee to fill the position. The
Title IX Coordinator is responsible for educating professors, students, and staff on their
rights through Title IX and the procedures and policies that affect them. There is no
specific job description of what exactly the Title IX coordinator must do; they must

1 Dr. Kenneth Lehrman IIIs official title is Vice Provost for Affirmative Action.
2 Over ten percent of universities do not have a full-time Title IX Coordinator
(McCaskill, Sexual Violence on Campus).

actively respond to the environment around them and solve problems of discrimination
based upon their setting (Not Alone, "Role of the Title IX Coordinator"). For Penn State,
this could mean implementing a new sexual assault prevention/awareness program for
first year students.
Specifically, the Title IX Coordinator is in charge of a special kind of
discrimination- sexual misconduct. Sexual assault falls under the umbrella of sex
discrimination because in most circumstances it involves one gender enforcing control
over another gender involuntarily. The Title IX coordinator supervises the universitys
response to possible sexual assault,
looks for patterns and assesses effects
of the discrimination on a larger scale
that includes the whole collegiate
community (Not Alone, "Role of the
Title IX Coordinator"). When Stanford
University
Criswell

as

appointed

Catherine

their

Title

new

IX

Coordinator in 2014, she created a campus wide survey to gather information about
sexual assault on campus and then used that information to improve current policies and
practices (Stanford Report, "Stanford's New Title IX Coordinator Focuses on Listening,
Dialogue).
A great responsibility of the Title IX Coordinator includes training students, staff
and faculty on sexual discrimination. The coordinator is in charge of orchestrating
programs to educate the public on what defines sexual assault and consent, how to report

an incident, the aftermath of reporting an incident if you are a victim, the sanctions
imposed if one is guilty of a sexual assault, the role of alcohol and drugs in these
situations, support systems for victims, and how to prevent an assault from the
perspective of a bystander (Not Alone, "Role of the Title IX Coordinator"). The
importance of the position of the Title IX Coordinator cannot be understated.
Penn State must hire a full time coordinator so the needs of the community can be
adequately met. The school needs a leader to look up to and to follow in terms of how to
handle sexual assault. Schools who have recently installed coordinators have hired
previous employees from the U.S. Department of Education, deans of psychology and
directors of health services; Penn State could look to people similar to this for a potential
coordinator (Flaherty, "Compassionate But Impartial).
THE SOLUTION: IMPROVED PREVENTION SYSTEM

A job of the new coordinator should be to improve the current education system
Penn State has regarding sexual assault. Under Title IX, schools have an obligation to
prevent sexual assault on campus. Penn States current prevention curriculum consists of
the online module AWARE. Before arriving on campus, all first year students are
required to complete the module about sexual assault awareness. Penn State AWARE is
supposed to teach students about violence in relationships, sexual assault, stalking and
sexual harassment. It claims to help students develop practical skills to keep you and
your friends safe ("First Year - Education and Learning Modules). However, the fortyfive minute module is commonly rushed through in an attempt to quickly finish and move
on. Students usually put the module on in the background and pay little or no attention to

the information being presented.

When I completed the module myself, I was one of the people who simply clicked
through the slides without giving it a second thought. I had homework to do and a fortyfive minute module was simply wasting my time. Everyone who Ive talked to regarding
the matter says the same; AWARE was not effective or interesting enough to draw
attention to the important information. If this is the only method of sexual assault
education, Penn State is failing the community.
A change is needed even though AWARE is a relatively new program with only
four years under its belt. The old education system consisted of speakers and peer
educators talking about sexual assault, specifically its relationship with alcohol and
drugs. Students were put into small groups to discuss sexual assault and how it would
come to affect them as new students. The information on sexual assault was presented at
the First-Year Testing, Consulting, and Advising Program (FTCAP) and New Student
Orientation days, instead of an impersonal online module ("FTCAP Evolves This
Summer into Two-day New Student Orientation). In fall of 2011, it became mandatory
for first year students to complete the module ("New Penn State Students Must Complete
Sexual Assault Awareness Module)
A prevention program for students must
take place almost immediately upon arrival at
campus. A survey by the U.S. Department of
Justice found that during the first few weeks of
classes new students are more likely to
experience safety issues (like sexual assault)

because their defenses are impaired ("New Penn State Students Must Complete Sexual
Assault Awareness Module). The kairos of the presentation of the material is imperative,
so I suggest a return to the previous education method. The online modules are not taken
seriously and need to be reinforced with a personal information session. Penn State
should create a mandatory sexual assault education class that all students are required to
take before graduation. It could be a simple one-credit class where speakers could present
the information at hand and supplement it with conversation among the small group of
students. If the information is made personal and relevant to the students, it will be more
effective.

George Washington University has a similar education program where

students are separated into small groups to discuss issues surrounding sexual assault. A
student there praised the program explaining that it was probably the first time many of
the students had ever talked about sexual assault or consent in a social setting with their
peers (Culp-Ressler, "11 Schools Taking Real Steps To Start Fixing The College Rape
Crisis"). George Washington University has a smaller student body than Penn State3, but
I believe this method would still be effective. Students come to college from such wide
backgrounds that its necessary to hear different perspectives and stories. Such
communication and discussion can help to engage students in social responsibility and
care taking for their fellow students (Miller, "Sexual Assault Prevention: Mandatory
Education Is the Solution").

3 George Washington University has over 25,000 students enrolled compared to the
40,000 students attending Penn State ("University Facts).

9
Penn State is currently reevaluating their method of handling sexual assault and one

of the solutions includes improving the education system for prevention. A suggestion
was made by the Presidents Task Force on Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment4 for
the university to create a mandatory one-year course for all first year students about
personal well being. The course would have had an emphasis on creating meaningful
positive relationships with others and preventing sexual assault and alcohol abuse.
President Eric Barron actually vetoed this resolution and claimed the university will be
taking a different path that has yet to be announced (Szkaradnik, "President Barron
Accepts All 18 Sexual Assault Task Force Recommendations"). Barron should reconsider
the course and the values it could instill on the Penn State community.
THE COUNTERARGUMENT

Since the current prevention module is so new, there could be opposition to its
elimination. Why not just enhance AWARE instead of getting rid of it altogether?
Nevertheless I believe that the problem is the entire idea of the online module, not the
program itself. A study in 2013 showed that 78% of students prefer learning in a
traditional classroom setting rather than online (Karambelas, Study: Students prefer real
classrooms over virtual). If the information presented in AWARE were given in a
classroom setting, it would be much more beneficial.

4 In July 2014, President Barron created the Presidents Task Force on Sexual
Assault and Sexual Harassment to collect information about Penn States practices
regarding sexual assault in order to provide the university with a safer environment
(Fleming, Sexual Assault Task Force Releases Findings, Sweeping
Recommendations).

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THE CONCLUSION

Sexual assault is a problem on campus that demands to be dealt with and Penn State
simply cannot ignore it any longer. The university needs to implement a better prevention
program focusing on personal interactions and conversations rather than an online
module and hire a full-time Title IX Coordinator. Penn State has to pay more attention to
the guidelines set forward by Title IX in order to secure a safer environment for living
and learning for the whole community.

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Works Cited

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