Dear LC Community:
On May 6, 2020, revised regulations were released by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights, updating requirements for how schools respond to incidents of sexual harassment, stalking, dating or intimate partner violence, and sexual assault. These new regulations will be effective August 14 and, together with Oregon state law, will guide Lewis & Clark’s response to sexual misconduct. The new federal regulations fall under Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972, generally known just as “Title IX.”
As a caring, just, and supportive community, we had already begun to examine our current approach to supporting students and ensuring a fair process for formal complaints. Many of the changes required by the new regulations prompted community concern, including the requirement to allow cross-examination by advisors during formal conduct proceedings. Our Title IX team and Student Rights and Responsibilities will work on ensuring robust support, and will focus on reducing barriers to full participation in the rich educational experience at LC. The work of the coordinated community response team, confidential advocates, and violence prevention education will continue. You can expect LC staff and community to support you no matter where the harm occurred. A change in federal regulations does not prevent LC from continuing to determine the scope of our own expectations of behavior, and our own codes of conduct.
Knowing the anxiety associated with these changes in particular, especially paired with the changes we have all already faced, we want to assure every member of our community that they can reach out at any time to ask for support. This is true–and will remain true–regardless of whether a person affected by sexual harassment or misconduct requests any formal complaint or procedure. We encourage all members of our community to provide feedback on our current policy, and we will reach out this summer to ask for feedback as we propose updates and changes to that policy. Please contact me directly, in my role as Lewis & Clark’s new Title IX Coordinator, with your input or questions.
Working together, we can help assure a fair, equitable, and consistent response to sexual misconduct on our campus.
Sincerely,
Casey Bieberich, JD | she, her, hers
Associate Dean of Equity and Inclusion | Title IX Coordinator
bieberich@lclark.edu
