By Mac Williams
@m_williamsm2
Last week students from the University of Findlay participated in a Title IX Summit in Columbus, Ohio. The purpose of the event, according to the event website, was to inform students and campuses about sexual violence on college campuses. Additionally, students gained leadership experience to help educate their fellow students about sexual assaults on campus.
Ohio is now the first state to hold an educational Summit about Title IX, including representation from college and universities all over the state.
According to Rachel Walter, Assistant Dean of Students and Title IX Coordinator at UF, students were heavily impacted by the event.
“I think our students really got a crash course in what Title IX means and how that applies to our campus,” said Walter. “I definitely think that the Summit was a positive experience that allowed our students to gain an understanding of sexual violence on campuses.”
According to Bennet Lamczyk, a student who attended the Summit, the day consisted of breakout sessions that students could attend. These sessions included programs on preventing, intervening, and risk reduction when it comes to sexual misconduct. The sessions were broken up into two halves, a morning wave and an afternoon wave.
“We focused on making sure a UF representative was attending different sessions so that we could gather as much information as possible to bring back to campus,” said Lamczyk.
According to Lamczyk, the breakout session he attended focused on a rarely discussed component of sexual violence on campuses.
“One breakout session I attended was focused on how to engage men to get them talking about preventing sexual assault,” said Lamczyk. “I am really excited because I was exposed to a couple of unique program opportunities that would be great for the UF community.”
Student leaders that attended the Summit will be meeting with other leaders in the OC3 (Oilers Changing Campus Culture) soon to decide how they will implement what they learned at the Summit on campus.