It’s been just over two weeks since the allegations of sexual misconduct permeated their sound through social media platforms and into the halls of Saint Xavier University.
On the evening of Saturday, Student Affairs sent out an email listing times and locations for sessions of the discussion surrounding sexual misconduct around campus.
The following is an account of the February 12th session, held at 2 p.m. in the Wiseman Student Lounge.
Many students, predominantly women, gathered to inquire about their confusions and get a more accurate understanding of the Title IX process as a whole.
Many people in high positions were in attendance for this forum, including Maggie Eaheart, Chief of Staff, Tony Campbell, President of Saint Xavier University, and Samantha Maher-Sheahan, the Associate Dean of Students.
The table and the forum primarily focused on Maher-Sheahan, as she spoke as the mediator while most other university representatives sat along the back wall out of the general sight.
Maher-Sheahan began the dialogue by thanking the students that choose to come out and participate in the conversation. She also established that while the dialogue was only meant for our benefit; certain details would have to be withheld due to the regulations of FERP.
Maher-Sheahan noted, “FERP is a law that says we have to keep things confidential as best we can.”
She continued by laying out that the conversation is done with as much respect and grace as possible.
The floor was then open to any questions from the audience.
Jackie Tischina was the first to open up and inquired if the university had any plans to change the schools’ process.
Tischina elaborated that when she attended part of a prior session, someone had described the process as “having a few holes in it.”
Before she could continue, MaherSheahan insisted on clarifying Tischina’s inquiry.
Maher-Sheahan spoke at length about the training that is mandated of her. She referred to “Dear Colleague Letter”, which according to NSVRC.org, “Dear Colleague Letter” is described as “Vice President [Joe] Biden and Secretary [of Education] [Arine] Duncan’s presented guidelines on legal obligations in addressing sexual violence in school and on campus.”
Since that event, the federal government has been providing universities with what procedures to follow and how to follow them in reference to sexual violence on college campuses.
Maher-Sheahan also mentioned that as a result of direct action from Lisa Medigan, further legislation in Illinois was pushed to go above and beyond the legal responsibility of universities.
Maher-Sheahan disclosed that the Sexual Misconduct Guidebook provided was about 2.5 years old.
Amendments are only allowed to be made on an annual basis, and every year there is a consideration on where the policies may fall short.
Maher-Sheahan alleges that because of the low amount of reported cases coming in, the guidebook doesn’t always seem in need of an update.
The answer wasn’t satisfactory for Tischina, who once again asked what policies would be modified when given the chance.
“You have a good amount of students that don’t feel safe on campus…I just wanna know if you’re gonna put in any new policies that will help feel safer on campus. We are on campus all the time. A good amount of [attendants] are actually residents. I’d just like to feel safer…”
Maher-Sheahan reiterated that campus safety was the number one priority. She shared that students felt unsafe because they were not notified of the assault when it happened.
In allegations that affect the student body safety, students are given a Timely Notice to inform them of possible danger, but things become much muddier when the crime becomes an individual. Maher-Sheahan shared that if there was sexual misconduct happening in the halls that were a threat to the entire community, that would have received a Timely Warning.
Maher-Sheahan also expressed that due process is a necessity for all parties involved in any sort of break of conduct.
“Investigations and conduct courts… are developed each part of the way to make sure we are taking into account and taking care of all of our students. It doesn’t always feel that way, I get that.” Paige Samuels then stepped up to the plate and asked what the university was going to change to better prepare themselves for events like these in the future. “The tweet went viral on Tuesday, Thursday, and there was no statement from the university until the next week.”
Attention was directed to Tony Campbell and Maggie Eaheart, who describe this situation as a “case study”.
Eaheart noted that the pace of social media far outpaces the universities ability to gather facts and come to a determination, but that they had actually been providing statements to individuals that had reached out prior to the release of the public statement.
Maher-Sheahan took over, saying that Continued From Page 1 information spread on social media isn’t necessarily communicated to staff to have investigations performed.
This was an out of place comparison, as tweets of allegations surfaced only after investigations of sexual misconduct was found inconclusive by the administration.
Throughout the entire dialogue, awkward chuckles from the administration were met with stern faces from the audience.
When inquired if a public statement would have been released had the tweets of alleged sexual misconduct not gone viral, Maher-Sheahan said, “I can’t speak specifically. What I can say is this; the process is the process.” Maher-Sheahan then spoke on how social media isn’t an aspect that she acknowledges, as it isn’t something administration would allow derailing the process.
“When safety is an issue, we are not going to wait to make a statement. We are not going to make a statement most of the time on most things that come across my desk. It’s not the right thing to do for people involved in the process.”
Maher-Sheahan spoke further on the resources available to students, such as the Annual Safety and Fire Report that is available on sxu.edu (Keyword: Safety).
When the forum wrapped up, guests were invited to continue speaking with the university representatives.
The attendants were not satisfied with the contents of the panel. Jane Doe shared “When this university became smoke-free, we saw tables with students against smoking campaigning for weeks in the diner. “We had posters put up all around this place. Where is that energy now?”
Eric Perez
News Reporter