Starting this semester, the student roles of Community Assistant (CAs), Orientation Leader (OLs) and Theme Coordinator are now required to be mandatory reporters.
Title IX Coordinator and Sexual Misconduct Prevention Educator Lindsey Cohen described a mandatory reporter as “an individual whose job requires them to make a report to the Title IX Coordinator saying that they have received some information that could fall under the university’s Sexual Misconduct Policy.” Title IX includes any form of discrimination or harassment and encompasses all protected identities such as sexual orientation, race, ethnic or national origin, religion, gender, etc.
A proposed regulation from this June that would require anyone with teaching, advising or leadership duties to be a mandatory reporter. According to Cohen, the St. Lawrence legal team expects this federal mandate to officially come into effect anytime between two months and the fall of 2023. “Essentially, everyone would be mandated reporters,” Cohen explained, expect for dining staff. In anticipation of almost all employees becoming mandatory reporters, it was determined that training would be easiest at the beginning of the semester for CAs, OLs and Theme Coordinators.
OL’s duty as a mandatory reporter ended on Saturday, August 27th. For CAs and Theme Coordinators, their role continues until they are no longer a CA or Theme Coordinator. For now, a mandatory reporter must report any Title IX violations they encounter, regardless if it is divulged by a resident, housemate, friend or stranger.
Returning CA Brody Campbell ’23 is new to the role of mandatory reporter this semester. Campbell already let his residents know about his new position as mandated reporter, but he is instructed to remind any resident if a conversation he is having could be perceived as related to a Title IX violation. “After the reminder,” he said, “it is up to the resident if they would like to continue to share.” If the resident does mention a Title IX violation, Campbell needs to report it.
An individual who previously went through advocate training is now required to be a mandatory reporter through their role as a theme coordinator. They requested to be anonymous. With advocate training, they explained, everything is on the survivor’s terms. The advocate becomes informed about all the resources on campus but does not need to report anything unless the survivor requests it.
The first time they heard about becoming a mandatory reporter was during a presentation in their Theme Coordinator orientation. “I wanted to be a theme coordinator,” they said. “I would not have volunteered if I knew that it was required to be a mandated reporter, too.” Currently, the role of Theme Coordinator is an unpaid position.
“Being a mandated reporter in my role is not a lot of work, we just need to send an email,” the anonymous theme coordinator said. “The problem I have with it is that I can’t be that support system for my friends anymore. I want to be a resource for my friends, and I don’t want to be someone that they cannot go to,” they continued.
Campbell is also hesitant about becoming a mandatory reporter. He did not believe that becoming a mandated reporter would help their residents seek help. “For CAs who have good relationships with their residents, I think it is going to put a lot of distance between residents in a crisis situation and their first line of support,” he said.
The added role of becoming a mandatory reporter is a concern to some CAs. “I think it’s an unhealthy mindset for the CAs,” Campbell said. “It makes it more difficult for CAs to be active students and actually contribute to the SLU campus. Essentially, I am always a CA, even when I am not on duty.”
Cohen acknowledged the increased pressure that CAs have to solve these problems and hopes that the role of mandatory reporter is seen more as a referral service. She is open to ideas and suggestions and has already reached out to CAs on how to better this added role.
In the event of a Title IX implication, Cohen explains that “a mandatory reporter will document the name of the person experiencing misconduct, the name of the people involved and the date and time of the incident— if that information is known.” The idea of a mandatory reporter, Cohen said, “is that the employee’s knowledge is the institution’s.”
Once the report reaches Cohen, she meets with the Title IX team to confirm that it does fall under Title IX. If it is confirmed to be under Title IX, Cohen will send an email to the person who experienced the misconduct. The subject line would be “Outreach from Title IX office” and the body of the email would direct the individual to an attachment, which includes the details of the incident, supportive measures, and available resources.
It is up to the individual whether they respond to Cohen, open the attachment or even open the email. Unless there is a concern for safety, there will be no follow-up past Cohen’s email. “They have the full discretion of following up with me the next day, a week, a year or never,” Cohen said. On a federal level, the Title IX office just needs to make sure that students have the resources, options and support they may need.