Isabella Rovere, the director of the We’re Committed campaign in Student Government, is organizing an Advisory Council for Power-Based Violence, a council which will advise the Title IX office on how students want sexual assault and domestic violence issues to be handled.
Rovere previously served on the Student Task Force for Sexual Assault Prevention and Advocacy, an organization created to advise administration on sexual assault prevention. The task force was recently absolved, Rovere said, and the new advisory council will take its place.
“We feel like the task force has kind of served its purpose of raising awareness for the campus climate, Title IX culture, etc.,” Rovere said. “So, we were like, ‘Ok, we think we can dissolve that and move forward.’ Then the question was kind of like, ‘What happens now?’ What can we put in place that is sustainable, that is student-led and can actually be helpful towards making Title IX better and moving it in the way it needs to go?”
The Louisiana legislature uses the term “Power-Based Violence,” defined by the Louisiana Board of Regents, as any form of interpersonal violence intended to control or intimidate another person through the assertion of power. This includes sexual assault, sexual harassment, domestic violence, date violence, and stalking.
Rovere will be the chair of the new council and wants to recruit 10 to 12 members. People interested in joining must be enrolled LSU students until at least May of 2023. The organization is accepting applications and can be accessed through TigerLink. Rovere is hoping to have the council organized by Mardi Gras.
“I feel like this is a place where students who are passionate about Title IX and making our campus better and building back that trust between students and administration; giving them the outlet and the opportunity to put that knowledge to work and that passion to work can be very beneficial for our campus,” Rovere said.
Rovere said that it can be difficult for administrators to see things from a student’s perspective, which is why it’s important to have avenues for students to express their concerns.
Since the organization is set up in TigerLink, they will be able to communicate directly with students to better get an idea of what they want to see in the Title IX office. Rovere said the Advisory Council will be collaborating with other organizations such as SG, Tigers Against Sexual Assault, and Feminists in Action.
“It’s going to have a lot of sway with us,” said Jane Cassidy, Vice President of the Civil Rights and Title IX office. “This group is our conduit to students.”
Cassidy said that although the Title IX office already meets with student organizations, they needed a group which would promote a culture of respect between students and administration, which she said the Advisory Council will provide.
“There was, in the beginning, an acknowledgment that the student voice is going to drive this conversation. Moving forward, there’s an acknowledgment that the student voice has added value to the conversation, it will be necessary to move us forward,” said Jerimiah Shinn, Vice President of Student Affairs. “Because at the end of the day, we want whatever we do to be relevant.”
Shinn said that students give administration an idea of how things are on the ground, which is necessary for making informed decisions for the campus.
Shinn also said that he hopes the Advisory Council will promote a shift in the culture at LSU to make it clear that power-based violence won’t be tolerated.
