As part of the University's ongoing efforts to combat sexual misconduct, the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs recently created a handful of focus groups to gauge students’ knowledge of the University’s sexual misconduct policy.
The Office has conducted six focus groups to date — four for undergraduate students and two for graduate students. Facilitators put participants into scenarios to test their knowledge of the University’s policies.
Emily Renda, project coordinator for the student affairs office, said the focus groups will both allow officials to see what students understand about the University's policy and serve to educate students about the University's definition of consent, and the process of the University's sexual misconduct board.
The University recently decided to revise its sexual misconduct policy to comply with new federal recommendations. In an email sent to focus group participants, the office said it will use the collected data to “inform our education and outreach efforts when the revised policy is rolled out in January 2015.”
Associate Dean of Students Nicole Eramo said students can expect to see a new sexual misconduct policy with definitions that will be “more fleshed out.”
“We are in the process of revision based on changes in campus data,” Eramo said. “You’ll see some more defined terms, and in some other areas some more meat on the bones of the definitions.”
The new policy will also add language on intimate partner violence and provide examples for what constitutes consent.
“We are always trying to learn things when we implement policies,” Eramo said. “Obviously we are always trying to make revisions and improvements.”
The Office of the Dean of Students has also increased its focus on prevention efforts — launching the Not on our Grounds and Hoos Got Your Back campaigns this semester.
To further these efforts, Eramo said, the University will institute a “Green Dot” sexual violence reduction program during the spring semester. The Green Dot initiative is part of a national effort and involves intensive training on bystander intervention.
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