According to the U.S. Department of Education, Title IX is a law in which “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.”
In other words, Title IX aims to prevent discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation in a school setting or educational program. Title IX also protects students who are sexually harassed and prohibits sexual violence at the school you attend.
“I know that Title IX 9 focused on basically informing students about sexual harassment, drugs, alcohol, and certain situations that dealt with peer pressure,” said Jelly, an 18-year-old Environmental Studies major at SFSU.
However, other students weren’t aware of what Title IX was before attending SF State.
“I didn’t even know what Title IX was until I came here to SF,” said Katie, an 18-year-old Cinematography major. “We didn’t even have that mentioned in [my high school at] Nebraska.”
Before freshmen were allowed to attend SFSU, a mandatory online course provided by the university had to be completed. The online course covered situations and topics students might come across during their time in college, such as alcohol, drugs, and sexual harassment. Students also had to sign a consent form, which would showcase that they understood Title IX.
“In my perspective when I was learning about Title IX, I just want to get the online course done,” said Katie. “I know students who didn’t take the course seriously, because everything being presented was common sense. It’s a good way that the campus tries to make students educated, but it wasn’t very effective.
However, students believe that there’s still more action that needs to be taken not only at SFSU, but at all college campuses across America.
“I think that orientation they should have a brief presentation on what it’s about. It’ll help students physically and visually see someone talking about it, even if it was for a brief moment of time,” said Jelly.
Students on campus have suggested that monthly floor meetings about Title IX should be incorporated, announcements that’ll keep students aware about sexual harassment, and more programs should be incorporated at SFSU.
“If we had a 24-hour number students could call for help that’ll be great. Even if it was just to talk to a stranger who knew how to handle the situation,” said Katie.
“I actually think that this was a good way for students to be aware of the fact that this is a serious manner,” said Jelly. “Email is good to keep people aware and cautious campus-wide, but everyone doesn’t check their email often.”
As of now, SFSU has a Student Health Services Office, where students can have counseling about any issues or concerns they might have. Students and employees also have access to the SAFE Place, a confidential victim-advocate resource center for victims of sexual violence.
“I have been here for only month, but I still don’t know a lot of the resources we have on campus,” said Katie. “A lot of things can happen in a month and it shows that we need to do more to have the school promote more programs. Students need to be consistently aware of what’s going on. We need to make it more of a priority to get things out there.”
Students can learn more about Title IX by visiting http://titleix.sfsu.edu. SFSU’s Student Health Services Office can be reached by visiting health.sfsu.edu.