SUNY Oswego Title IX Info Session helps raise awareness for students
SUNY Oswego’s Title IX Info Session Thursday focused on Title IX, educating students and faculty, while showing students how this law helps protect them.
Established in 1972, Title IX is a “federal anti- discrimination law,” protecting students and staff against gender-based discrimination and sexual violence under all academic-run, led and funded programs.
Sessions like this give students and staff the opportunity to learn all about Title IX and the purpose it serves.
“I think it’s (the info sessions) important because students and employees should be able to learn and work free from harassment and violence,” Lisa Evaneski said, Title IX coordinator at SUNY Oswego since 2013.
She also realizes that it’s more than just about the session — Evaneski knows that educating students of Title IX itself and more associated with it can be critical.
“Members of our community (will) know what their rights are, know how to get involved with prevention and how to get help if they need it,” she said.
Yet, while helpful, one such student found the session to be dull.
“The meeting itself was rather boring,” Timothy Groman said, a sophomore accounting major.
The session, though, was more than Evaneski giving a presentation and talking to attendees; it also included two video clips.
Groman believes these were used as a way to connect with audience members’ feelings.
“The videos did bring in just enough emotion to make it memorable,” he said.
One of the videos, “Consent, it’s Simple as Tea,” is a cartoon that has a narrator explaining why the stick figures in the video should not be forced to drink tea if they do not want to or cannot make the choice for themselves.
The tea represents sexual consent and tries to simplify what it means. Essentially, if a person cannot or does not consent to having tea (sex), then do not force them into having tea (sex).
But some students may not understand this notion in real life situations.
“A lot of people don’t understand what affirmative consent is,” Rose Banks said, a junior creative writing major.
The video, Banks believes, connected with the audience to help them better understand sexual consent and how it all ties into Title IX.
“Using the videos, like having a visual helps a lot and it pretty much gives people that jist of information that they need,” she said.
Title IX allows students to report or share private, personal information with things like the counseling services center and Mary Walker Health Center.
In the end, the session can also be used as another tool for students to help others.
“For me, I just want to make sure I apply what I learn and share with other people,” Banks said.
No one is required to go to this particular session, but employees and students are encouraged to attend.
Turnout for these events usually yields five to 100 people, according to Evaneski. Thursday’s Title IX Info Session had 30 to 50 attendees, a majority of them students.
Audio: Response from Rose Banks on what the session did well and how it helped. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B-8c0UGGiUJ4X3RJUTFZU1ZDWFFoSENoZk94cXRleTZBRzNj