University officials are working on new ways to combat sexual assault in line with the new Louisiana Board of Regents policy.
The policy is an offensive against all forms of sexual misconduct and focuses on four mandatory requirements: campus climate surveys, prevention and awareness programs, coordination with local law enforcement and institutional task forces.
Since the Board passed the “Uniform Policy on Sexual Misconduct” at its February meeting, universities across the state have until July 1 to draft a policy and until October 1 to implement it.
James Marchand, assistant to the LSU System General Counsel, said he and other members are updating the current policies on sexual assault under PM 73.
“The first thing we did is we got a group of fellows that are looking at the new Board of Regents policy and are comparing it to our PM 73 and are going to begin to amend PM 73 to coordinate with the Board of Regents policy,” Marchand said.
Though the plans cover all state higher education campuses, the policy gives leeway to implementation, owing individual characteristics of campuses such as the difference between of campus policing and commuter and residential atmospheres.
“However, while all Louisiana public postsecondary education institutions may develop individualized policies specifying how instances of campus sexual misconduct are addressed and resolved, this Policy establishes various mandatory obligations with which all institutional policies must comply,” the policy states.
Marchand said a working group is discussing the best way to implement these new policies, while keeping students interested in outcomes.
Gaston Reinoso, director of Human Resource Management, said he and other members of the group have spoken with LSUPD as well as other parts of campus.
“It’s basically a response team, which requires collaboration of different parts of the University,” Reinoso said. “So we can all discuss situations and that way we can collaborate to have a quicker response to stop any inappropriate behavior that we identify.”
Because of the recent creation of PM 73 last June, the University policy is already “ahead of the game” when it comes to sexual assault, Reinoso said, but no fixed plans are in place as to how the new practices will be implemented.
Now, policy leaders are discussing how to administer campus climate surveys.
“The task force that has worked along with the Board of Regents policy will be meeting some more, for one, to discuss policy, but two, discuss things like the campus climate survey,” Marchand said. “Those are things we will continue to work on.”
Dean of Students K.C. White has been outspoken about her desire to connect students to change campus themselves rather than pass down rules from a faraway administration.
“She is right in that trying to do that is part of the whole University’s job,” Marchand said. “Looking at ‘It’s On Us,’ and we would encourage everybody to take the training that’s online.”
The LSU Board of Supervisors will review the new policy and forwarding the draft to the Board of Regents by Sept. 15.
Marchand said consequences of not following the new policy could be loss of federal funding in accordance with Title IX.