SAASHA Informed: Know your rights and resources


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One of the most helpful ways we are able to protect ourselves and others is by knowing our rights. By knowing what rights protect you and provide you with both support and resources, you will be much more able to secure access to a stable and safe environment in which your legal liberties are protected. With that being said, being a college campus, outside of the protection of your legal rights, there are also resources located here that provide additional support and protect your general wellbeing as well. Many people do not know what protects them and what resources they have access to until any one of their rights has been violated. We at SAASHA feel it is imperative we change this and notify the campus body of the ways to connect to and find support in your rights to better protect yourself and others. 

The Title IX office is a legal office at Lawrence University. It focuses on violations of Title IX laws, which are as follows, “Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX) prohibits sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity) discrimination in any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance”. The office is meant to protect your rights and provide legal support if any of these rights have been violated. The current Title IX coordinator is Allison Vetter and her office is located in Brokaw room 93. While she provides direct legal support and can help with cases, she also puts out information through the website, through meet-and-greets and other events to help educate the student body more about the logistics of Title IX. Title IX policy here on campus, though adapted and adjusted by the university, is not flexible due to the fact that it has to abide by federal regulations. 

Another set of resources are the confidential and non-confidential resources on campus. The confidential resources are ones that, as the name suggests, are confidential. This means these resources on campus are here to help listen to you and provide you with support when a violation has occurred. They are not generally required to report to the Title IX office and can be a great supportive measure. Non-confidential resources are ones that will directly move forward with information and report it to the Title IX office, these are people whom you’d reach out to when you are ready to file a complaint or report. With that being said, a report notifies the Title IX coordinator of sexual misconduct. These are not formally investigated unless they highlight any forms of patterns, predators, threats, violence or weapons. It also helps connect individuals to resources of support as needed. On the other hand, a complaint is made to launch an investigation. The investigation will vary depending on the case and therefore can vary in result and timeline as well. To connect with any of these resources, check out SAASHA’s Instagram (@lu_SAASHA) or go to the Title IX page on the Lawrence University page. 

There are resources both on and off-campus available, and these resources help provide support both for one’s wellbeing and one’s legal rights. Knowing this information can help you in making the best possible choice for what you need whenever you do need it and prevents added layers of stress and conflict by providing you with connections to help find exactly what is appropriate for you in those moments.