You might have seen it amidst your start-of-the-semester emails. In between syllabuses and listserv emails is a message from the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. I skimmed it, expecting to find another message about contextualized grades. Instead, I found evidence of a step forward from UNC’s administration.
In case you missed it, the University now requires training on sexual harassment and sexual violence for all students, faculty and staff. According to the email, the online training module “includes information about laws prohibiting sexual harassment, sexual violence, interpersonal violence and stalking.”
There are several reasons this announcement deserves praise.
First, the Title IX Awareness and Violence Prevention training is mandatory (and enforced as such). If the module is not completed within 45 days, students could receive a registration hold on their accounts.
Of course, there will always be some students who won’t take the training seriously or will view it as some kind of war on men. If they dismiss it? Fine. I feel optimistic about the larger UNC community. Most of us want to make this campus a safe place for all, so making this training mandatory will help reach students who might not otherwise take a women’s and gender studies class or join groups like Project Dinah. The training’s availability will also increase awareness of Title IX, making students more likely to seek support from the Title IX office.
Second, it shows the administration is taking steps to confront sexual violence. The email notes that this training is just one part of a series of efforts being made by the University. I’m particularly excited to hear about an upcoming sexual assault campus climate survey.
I hope that the administration’s efforts to end interpersonal violence will continue to include student feedback and collaboration. It is disappointing, however, that the administration is vocal about interpersonal violence where our own student government has been quiet. I encourage them to join the office of Student Affairs in being vocal about these issues.
Finally, the UNC community will have a chance to give feedback on the trainings. The Title IX Awareness and Violence Prevention online training won’t be perfect. The quality of the training can’t be evaluated on the basis of a single email, but the feedback sessions will be a useful place to bring any concerns or criticism.
For some students, this training might seem annoying. But for many, it will be illuminating. I didn’t learn about consent and interpersonal violence in high school. Woefully inadequate health education has left many of us bereft of this knowledge. This training will provide vital new information, resources and strategies for ending violence on our campus. Alcohol safety modules are mandatory. Through LFIT classes, nutrition and exercise trainings are mandatory, and it is only right that sexual violence prevention be treated similarly.
