Field Project Reflection
The goal of our field project was to create a comprehensive, but easy to read, document about Title IX and how to report sexual harassment at school, work, or outside of an institution. We wanted to make the aspects of Title IX that are not very clear more understandable so that people can fully understand what will happen if they choose to report their case. Questions like who are mandated reporters, when do parents or guardians have to be notified, why would a case be dismissed, and what counts as a work or school event are not very clear in Title IX. This might discourage some people from reporting their case because of uncertainty around the process. That was the issue we hoped to solve with our project.
Overall I think the project went pretty well. However, we did have some difficulty fully understanding aspects of Title IX, and trying to get approval from the SSO is still a bit of a challenge. But overall I think our document ended up much clearer than the official Title IX documents, and we achieved the goal of solving uncertainty around reporting a case.
We originally planned to put up posters with links to the document, but I don’t know what kinds of outcomes we will get from that since school is pretty much over. However, I think the project will probably end up on the Uni website, which is great.
I’m most proud of my group’s attention to detail while making the document. You have to be very accurate with information like this, and I think we succeeded in that. Reflecting back on the project, I think I would have gotten in contact with the SSO sooner, just because the project kind of hit a standstill without them.
In terms of next steps, I think we need to work on Title IX as a whole. It’s unnecessarily confusing and places way too much pressure on victims of sexual harassment. At Uni specifically, I think it needs to be made more clear what will happen if you report something to a Uni teacher. I feel like that is very important information that a person would want to consider before reporting something. I don’t think this will discourage people from reporting their case, I think it will help people feel more in control of the whole process.
It was great to read about how your project went, Kathryn! I'm glad you talked about the specific questions your document clarified, and I agree that clearer definitions and expectations could encourage people to move forward in their reporting process. It's wonderful to hear that the resource will be shared on Uni's website, especially since you mentioned that Uni's policy on communicating with teachers is muddy. I also share your perspective on Title IX as a whole, and agree that there's a lot of progress that could made toward accessibility.
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