Letter to the Editor

I was excited when The Dickinsonian wanted to do an article on the new Title IX Coordinator.  It was a perfect opportunity to introduce Donna Greco to the community. I am writing this letter to the editor to clarify a few things in the article that may cause unnecessary confusion.

Since 2011 this community – faculty, students and administrators – has worked so hard to improve and enhance the College’s response to sexual misconduct. It is for that reason that I especially wanted to point out that Donna Greco didn’t say that she came to make the policy “stronger or better.” In fact, she has stressed during the interview process and since being here that she feels strongly that our policy is one of the best she has seen and she is happy to be here because it is clear to her that members of this community have done a lot of good work to get this policy right.  Greco came to us from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center so she has had a good deal of experience and exposure to these issues on college campuses.

I would also want to point out that I believe that some places where quotes from me were inserted do not correspond to the actual question that elicited the response. I would especially want to correct any impression that I singled out coaches and athletes as problematic.

I believe I was asked a question about training and who had to be trained. The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) in the Department of Education has responsibility for the management of Title IX on college campuses. In the 2011 Dear Colleague letter, the OCR pointed out to colleges and universities that they were not taking sexual assault seriously enough.

They reminded all of us that sexual assault was a form of sexual harassment and required that colleges and universities train many members of their community.  All employees must be trained regularly. RAs and CAs are a group called out for specific training because of their role in the campus community, and they also said athletes and coaches are a group that should receive training. They mentioned members of fraternities and sororities too. There is a particular mandate for first-year students because of their vulnerability as new members of the college community. So as you can see, many constituents are required to be trained. I am happy to report that Kelly Wilt, our director of Prevention, Education and Advocacy has worked with all of these groups, and many others, who have asked to be trained, or who, as a result of their role, need to be trained.

One of the cornerstones of our training efforts now includes Green Dot, a bystander intervention training. It is one of the guiding principles of Green Dot that all of us must work to create the kind of safety on campus that we wish to see. Green Dot emphasizes that we all have the power to make individual choices to step in when we see something that makes us uncomfortable or concerned for another community member, and as a result make a safer environment for us all.

Sexual assault on college campuses is rarely between individuals who don’t know each other. That can sometimes complicate the reporting of such incidents. The work we have done over the last year particularly has been designed to make the avenues and options for reporting more clear.

Most importantly we have worked to increase support for survivor/complainants. That is what makes Greco’s hire so exciting. Greco will be able to focus full time on training, prevention and policy management. She is excited to do this in partnership with students, faculty, staff and administrators, so that together, we not only meet our legal obligations under Title IX and Clery, but also continue to build upon Dickinson’s commitment to a safe, equitable, healthy, respectful environment where we can all thrive.

I am thrilled to welcome her to Dickinson College, and hope that students take the time to get to know her.