Advocating for Change at Tulane
“If we don’t start taking care of each other, no one will”
Despite the social reckoning that followed the #MeToo movement aimed at addressing sexual violence and harassment, sexual misconduct remains an epidemic on college campuses across the United States. Recent publicized “climate assessments,” in which universities report statistics such as the percentage of students who have experienced sexual assault, have shone a light on what many people, especially those immersed in these institutions, already knew – sexual assault is rampant on college campuses. In 2017, Tulane University conducted its own climate survey that revealed startling and pervasive incidents of sexual misconduct on campus, with LGBTQ+ and minority populations particularly vulnerable. Among other things, the report found that two in five women at Tulane had experienced sexual assault during their undergraduate years. The publication of this data sparked a wave of advocacy on campus, with Tulane undergraduates looking for grassroots opportunities to make meaningful change.
As an action step, students involved in AKPSI and the USG Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Committee invited the Purple Campaign’s Ally Coll, Co-Founder – and Tulane alumna – and Shea Holman, Director of Law and Policy, to speak at a Tulane University event held last week. Coll and Holman shared their personal experiences and professional expertise with incidents of sexual harassment and misconduct to help the audience better understand sexual violence, sexual harassment, and what they, as students, could do to support their undergraduate community. This event created a confidential space for students to ask their questions regarding healing, Title IX, education, and advocacy.
In particular, the student-led discussion highlighted why discussing sexual misconduct and gender equity on a college campus is vitally important. The simple answer is that students are personally experiencing and/or witnessing sexual misconduct and they want change. Students are seeking advocacy opportunities that allow them to advocate in a way that helps their fellow students, rather than harms. In fact, this was one of the principal concerns students raised at the event, demonstrating a real commitment to promoting the health and safety of their peers.
But this is not always an easy task, and the students looked to Coll and Holman for guidance on how to advocate effectively in this sphere. Coll and Holman discussed the importance of creating advocacy networks to produce long term productive change rather than “knee jerk” reactions, the importance of adopting an intersectional approach, the chilling effect of new Title IX regulations implemented by the Trump administration, and how to avoid a “cookie cutter” approach to preventing and addressing campus sexual misconduct.
Intersectionality – A key component for change
Prior to the #MeToo movement, people often shared information with one another through informal channels like “whisper campaigns,” whereby women would try to warn other women about sexual harassment and discrimination happening in their workplaces. However, this approach is often unsuccessful, because it reinforces institutional power imbalances and subjects those without institutional power to sexual misconduct. As Coll said, “if you’re not solving [sexual discrimination and sexual violence] for the most marginalized, you are not solving it at all.” Thus, whisper campaigns on their own cannot solve the problem for the most marginalized groups, which means they fail to solve the sexual harassment problem overall.
Coll also discussed how taking an intersectional approach requires not only looking at sexual harassment and misconduct, but other types of misconduct such as racial discrimination, disability discrimination, religious discrimination, and misconduct based on other protected categories. Coll explained that when organizations allow certain types of misconduct to exist, they embolden perpetrators and foster a culture in which this type of behavior is viewed as acceptable. This is one reason the Purple Campaign urges companies to handle all types of misconduct with equal prioritization, rather than prioritizing sexual harassment.
Title IX Changes Under the Trump Administration – Where are we?
Under the Trump administration, Title IX – the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or other education program that receives funding from the federal government – underwent constricting changes that had a chilling effect on sexual assault reporting. Holman discussed two major changes affecting students: First, the language change which altered the standard required to prove sexual assault on campus, making it more demanding. Under the Trump administration, the new definition, from a Supreme Court case on Title IX, includes unwelcome conduct that a reasonable person would find “so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive” that it denies a person equal educational access. This standard differs significantly from the “severe or pervasive” standard used in Title VII workplace harassment cases, thus creating a much harder standard for survivors to meet, and less accountability for perpetrators.
The second change increased university discretion regarding investigating off-campus sexual assaults – meaning universities are no longer required to investigate an incident of off-campus sexual assault between two students. This is a substantial change because, according to RAINN, only 8% of sexual assaults happen on campus. Additionally, sexual assaults that occur during a study abroad program do not require investigation under the new Title IX guidelines. Although the students expressed a desire for quick modifications to be made by the Biden Administration, there are currently no substantial changes in the pipeline. While this may seem bleak, Holman reminded the students this is an opportunity for advocacy because “federal level changes will take time, but advocacy work at all levels is necessary to repeal these Title IX changes.”
While these changes have chilled Title IX reporting at universities, they have also inflamed advocates across universities to push their schools to make changes that go beyond the current guidelines, building a more conscious and deliberate space for survivors. Some of these changes include restorative and transformative justice where, through an informal process, survivors and perpetrators can come to resolutions together that allow survivors to heal and perpetrators to take responsibility for their actions. Universities implementing these programs are still required to maintain traditional Title IX avenues for recourse for those who would rather go through formal channels. These additional channels, however, have the potential to reduce campus sexual assault through conversation and aid healing by allowing survivors more autonomy.
Put away the cookie-cutter!
We all wish that fixing sexual harassment and assault on college campuses was as simple as making cookies, but we know it is not. A one-size-fits-all cookie cutter solution does not address all of the nuances in campus sexual misconduct reform. Coll explained that in order to avoid an ineffective cookie-cutter approach, the first step is to acknowledge that every organization requires custom tailoring, an approach at the heart of the Purple Campaign’s work. Coll discussed the importance of having interactive trainings and a robust handbook. Holman added that a holistic perspective disavows the idea that people who are too close to the issue cannot do this type of work. In fact, it is crucial to center and uplift the people most impacted when crafting reforms. When asked what she learned during her time on Capitol Hill that has helped her most in this work, Coll did not tout the lawmaking process for her success, but the hard-won lesson, “sometimes I am not the right voice for people to hear.” In sexual assault advocacy, it is not only important to center survivors, but equally important to give permission to engage and permission to disengage, especially when those most impacted need the space.
Holman and Coll closed with the idea that grassroots advocacy can take many forms. It can involve petitioning and protesting your university to make changes to policies, it can be providing a space for the community to engage with the current policies and discuss them, or it can be bringing in experts to discuss potential reforms. The point is, different communities have different needs, and, therefore, advocacy efforts must be just as unique as the community itself. That does not mean that every advocacy group must reinvent the wheel, but rather, they must tailor the size, color, and spokes until it fits their communities’ needs. Coll and Holman provided the Tulane community with a call to action – find what will work for your community and its members. The Purple Campaign is here to help as universities work toward meaningful reform.
Tulane is currently hosting a community art exhibition – Masked Violence – that invites students to share their artwork and handwritten stories to provide students a place to engage with the impacts of sexual assault at Tulane.