Title IX at UR Explained

Editor’s Note: This story includes mentions of sexual assault and violence. Confidential sexual assault resources for UR students include CARE Advocates, which can be reached at advocate@richmond.edu or 804.801.6251; Peer Sexual Misconduct Advisors (PSMA), at psma@richmond.edu or 804.346.7674; CAPS, at CAPS@richmond.edu or 804.289.8119; Virginia LGBTQ Partner Abuse and Sexual Assault Helpline (24/7), at 866.356.6998; Greater Richmond Regional Hotline (24/7), at 804.612.6126; National Sexual Assault Hotline (24/7) at 800.656.HOPE; UR Chaplaincy at 804.289.8500  

Title IX handles any discrimination or harassment a student or employee may face related to their protected statuses. But what exactly does that mean? This is a deep dive into the operations of Title IX at the University of Richmond and the resources available to all students and employees. 

Protected statuses, which include “a person’s race, religion, national or ethnic origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression disability,” are all covered by Title IX, according to the UR website. However, bias incidents are not handled by Title IX, as while that can relate to protected statuses, it does not fall under discrimination or harassment. Bias incident reporting is handled by the Student Center for Equity and Inclusion, according to the UR website.  

When a student files a complaint with Title IX, there are two paths that they can go down: the grievance or mediation process. 

The grievance process is primarily what the Title IX office is known for, according to Tracy Cassalia, UR’s deputy Title IX coordinator for students. This is when a Title IX investigator is brought in to interview the complainant, accused, witnesses and anyone else involved in the reported incident in order to bring together a case. From there, the case is brought before UR’s hearing board, which is composed of staff members who don’t have regular contact with students so as to avoid any possible conflicts Kristine Henderson, UR’s director of compliance and Title IX coordinator, said. 

which then decides if there is a finding of responsibility or not. If someone is found responsible, then the parties involved move forward and impose the proper sanctions, including but not limited to expulsion or suspension from UR. 

“That's a very prescriptive process that the federal government comes up with and says, ‘this is what Title IX is,’” Cassalia said. 

The grievance process does not require consent from both parties, Cassalia said. All it takes is one person who is willing to move forward and file a formal complaint. 

Meanwhile, the mediation process requires both parties’ willing participation. 

“Both people have to be open minded and it can’t have any of the things that you would see as a sanction,” Cassalia said. “Someone can’t go into mediation and say that they would like to have someone expelled, since that’s a type of sanction.”

In order for the mediation to work, both parties need to agree to a certain outcome, such as attending a required alcohol education or consent program. However, education courses are limited to the ones offered at each respective university. For example, UR does not offer anger management courses, so that is not a possible outcome through mediation. Sanctions are also not possible through this process. 

Many of these education courses are offered through UR’s Center for Awareness, Response and Education. 

“It’s so important to engage our students in conversations and promote protective factors,” Kaylin Tingle, a healthy relationships and violence prevention educator in CARE, said. “How do we figure out how we build the skills for the things that we do want to see where we’re engaging in pleasure and joy in our relationships and communities?”

The Department of Health Promotion, which CARE falls under, offers a variety of different resources available to all, ranging from the required Wellness 100 courses for students to a collegiate recovery program, according to the UR website. 

UR also has student peer sexual misconduct advisors, or PSMAs, to help guide anyone through the process, whether they are a complainant or accused, co-PSMA heads Lily Stevenson and Meghana Nalamolu said.

“If a student comes to us, we're not going to refer them to Title IX or help them with that process unless they ask for options and decide on the option they want to go down,” Nalamolu said. 

As undergraduate PSMAs, Nalamolu and Stevenson interact mostly with other undergraduate students. One of the things that PSMAs often encounter and hear about is students’ lack of awareness regarding Title IX and the options available to them, Stevenson said. 

“We don't really hear students' opinions on it, but more just whether or not they know it exists,” Stevenson said. “We can help them and if they do want to report but don't know how, we can help them.”

There are certain situations that are not eligible for mediation, like if a weapon was used in the altercation, Cassalia said. Those go straight to the grievance process. 

There are a number of ways to keep the complainant and accused away from each other, such as the no-contact orders or creating schedules that fit for both parties, Henderson said. The personalized schedules can include what time one of the parties may be in the library so that they know to avoid one another. No-contact orders do not prohibit both parties from being in a shared space, just a reasonable distance apart, Henderson said. 

In the event that a student is found responsible through the grievance process and is expelled, suspended or withdraws from the school while under investigation, this will show up on their transcript if they choose to transfer to another institution, Cassalia said. However, this is only required by law in Virginia and New York, so students transferring out of schools in any of the other 48 states can go through the application process without their new school ever knowing about their allegations, or even proven guilt. 

Most schools do require that the outgoing institution’s dean’s office fills out a form regarding the conduct of the transferring student. The Title IX office is not required to fill out any forms in those cases–only for transferring athletes, as student-athletes go through different transfer process through the National Collegiate Athletic Association, Cassalia said. 

There is a chance that the Title IX rules could see new changes implemented soon. The rules are decided and updated by the current presidential administration, with all schools across the country still working under those established by the Trump Administration, as President Joe Biden’s new suggestions have been stalled for months now, Cassalia said. Biden’s Title IX rules were supposed to be released in October 2023, according to Homeroom, the official blog of the U.S. Department of Education. 

One of the proposed rules is a change to students’ eligibility for athletics teams that would provide greater protections to transgender students, according to the U.S Department of Education. 

“Under the proposed regulation, schools would not be permitted to adopt or apply a one-size-fits-all policy that categorically bans transgender students from participating on teams consistent with their gender identity,” a fact sheet released by the U.S Department of Education reads. 

It is unclear when the new rules will be released as the Biden Administration has not yet announced a new timeline after missing its projected October release. 

Along with that, all universities are still in the ‘red zone,’ the time between the start of the school year and Thanksgiving break, when around 50% of yearly sexual assaults happen on campus, according to the National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments. There has been one reported instance of sexual assault this semester as of Nov. 8 according to UR’s crime log. No timely warnings have been sent out to the student body. A timely warning can only be issued if the instance is reported to campus police in good faith, occurred in a reportable location, the offender is still at large, and it remains a serious and ongoing threat to the greater community, according to UR’s timely warning policy. 

“Never discredit the little pit in your stomach that you feel like if you're in this situation that doesn't feel right or this person gives you the creeps,” Cassalia said. “Creepy doesn't necessarily mean criminal but creepy means something isn’t right.”

Any Title IX violation and discrimination or harassment reports can be filed here.