The office that handles issues such as sexual harassment on campus has been reorganized and equipped with more resources for students, faculty and staff. California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) held a Title IX town hall Thursday to give community members insight on the restructuring.
President Vanya Quiñones was among the audience of about 50 people, the majority being staff and faculty, in the World Theater to hear from Title IX Director Racquel Bonilla.
The town hall comes in the wake of a CSU system-wide investigation pointing out the shortcomings of the Title IX offices throughout the state, including at CSUMB.
Title IX is a federal law that protects all students, staff and faculty from sex and gender discrimination. On university campuses, it also serves as a form of reporting sexual harassment and assault, with the presumption that a school’s Title IX office will investigate all complaints and take appropriate action based on their findings.
Following the report’s findings, there is now an implementation team consisting of students, staff and faculty members to ensure all recommendations are implemented thoroughly. “With the implementations, we take our time. We do it right, and we make sure that we’re hitting the needs of the campus community,” said Bonilla.
More on this story in Monday’s issue of the Lutrinae.