As students begin to settle into their new class and work schedules, it can be easy to overlook an email from the president of MSU about revisions to the University’s Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct Policy, but a spokesperson for MSU says this is not information that should be overlooked.
“We know that this is a very busy time for students, however, in my opinion, speaking on behalf of the institution, this is some of the most important information they can spend a little bit of time thinking about, and making sure they’re aware of -- not only for themselves, but for their fellow spartans,” MSU Spokesperson Jason Cody said.
Among the biggest changes MSU has made to their policy is the creation of The Office of Institutional Equity (OIE), which has the sole purpose of processing and investigating sexual misconduct and relationship violence reports.
Cody said they made the decision to create such an office because they saw other universities doing similar things at the request of national experts who recommended a stand-alone office in order to deal with only these serious complaints, to speed the investigation process up.
“We wanted these cases to get the attention and the timeliness they need, and they deserve,” Cody said. “So, creating this stand alone office allows us to dedicate more resources, and their only focus is going to be on investigating these cases.”
Other key revisions to MSU’s Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct Policy include:
- Clarification of scope of policy between on and off-campus
- Addition of details regarding definitions of terms
- Additional explanation for concept of consent
- Additional information regarding reporting, where and how to report
- Additional information about the investigation process
- Specific information about investigation and student conduct timelines
- Additional information about interim measures; which are measures taken before the investigation begins to ensure the two parties to not have to have any contact with one another during the process.
- Additional information about advisors/counselors for victims
- Additional information about informal resolution
Cody said they also added things like flow charts for students to get a better understanding of some of the procedures related to sexual assault/harassment and other investigations.
“Our main goal here with this latest revision wasn't a lot of process changes, it was more to try to be more transparent about what the process entails,” Cody said.
Cody said another new thing this year is mandatory staff and faculty training to ensure MSU employees can adequately assist students if necessary.
“Obviously informing students is one of our goals, but we feel like by informing the entire community and making sure everyone has the information, that will help us accomplish that goal," Cody said.
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