The law reads: “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.”
“Thirty-seven words. The first 37 words. I don’t know about you, but they hold space with me,” Valerie Walston, the University of Toledo’s interim vice president of student affairs, said Thursday.
“I hope that they hold space for you,” she said at the beginning of the panel discussion held by the university in honor of the 50th anniversary of Title IX.
Title IX, ratified as a part of the Education Amendments of 1972, is a federal civil rights law that protects an individual’s access to education, regardless of sex.
While its initial intent was to even the playing field for women in athletics, the law also requires institutions to adopt and publish grievance procedures, often enforced by in-house Title IX offices, that provide for the resolution of sex discrimination complaints, which include sexual harassment and sexual violence.
The landscape of Title IX has been a topic of national debate for more than a decade. Amid UT’s celebration on Thursday, that landscape changed dramatically, not for the first time, as The Biden Administration released their long-awaited changes to the federal rules governing the application of Title IX.
Several controversial policies implemented under the Trump Administration will remain. They include maintaining a presumption of innocence standard for accused students, allowing informal resolutions to claims of sexual misconduct if both parties agree, and allowing schools to use the clear and convincing standard of evidence as opposed to a preponderance of the evidence standard. But President Biden’s new rules codify protections for transgender students, a demographic whose coverage under Title IX, has not previously been addressed.
“The law keeps changing and the scope of Title IX keeps changing, but it’s all for the betterment of the university community,” University of Toledo President Gregory Postel said.
UT’s Title IX coordinator Vicky Kulicke said she was looking forward to digging into the more than 700 pages outlining President Biden’s new rules delivered to her desk.
“We are always looking for a way to do things better,” Ms. Kulicke said. “We don’t do everything well. We know that there are concerns and we want to keep having critical conversations.”
Ms. Kulicke highlighted some of the positive efforts that UT has made in the realm of Title IX including various projects, such as the ‘What Were You Wearing’ exhibit, as well as other campus-wide campaigns. Ms. Kulicke also announced that in 2023, UT will host a Title IX summit, to be attended by area universities.
‘If I’m just doing compliance, then I’m not really doing my job,” the Title IX coordinator said.
Many of the all-women panelists said they have seen vast strides on college campuses in their years working in athletics, academics, and Title IX.
Malaika Bell, UT’s interim executive director for diversity, equity, and inclusion and Title IX committee member, said she’s witnessed a culture shift in recent years toward the three pillars of her job title.
“There’s an opportunity to think critically about what we have taken for granted, because not only are men raised to have certain expectations for gender roles but so are women. We each need to do our individual work to realign things,” Ms. Bell said.
“I didn’t have a lot of barriers growing up,” said Kennedy Lovell, a recent UT graduate and student athlete. Her parents raised her to go after what she wanted, especially in the realm of athletics, no matter her gender.
“That’s definitely because of Title IX,” she said, adding that the law, in its truest inception, is meant to remove the boundaries placed on women’s dreams in athletic and academic spaces.
Perhaps the biggest challenge facing Title IX, several of the panelists agreed, is increasing student engagement and interest in the topic.
“Sometimes education is a little bit of a push and a shove, but we need to keep pushing and shoving,” said Kelly Andrews, senior associate athletic director, in urging students, administrators, and community members alike to remain educated on the fluctuations in the law.
From its passing until now, Ms. Andrews said there have been many attempts to walk back the protections guaranteed under Title IX.
“We need to be vigilant and pay attention to what’s happening in the law. Title IX is only as safe, in my mind, as how accountable we keep our legislators,” she said.
First Published June 23, 2022, 8:58 p.m.
