MU Title IX leaders host policy presentation for students and faculty

The University of Missouri continues to spread word about its Title IX policy through a Q&A session for students and faculty at Memorial Union on Friday.

The meeting comes after MU hired a full-time coordinator and is making revisions to its Title IX policy to better handle sexual assaults on campus.

MU’s Title IX Investigator Salama Gallimore gave a full presentation about reporting and responsibility, and students and faculty had several questions about their rights.

About 20 people attended Friday’s session, but that’s only a small percentage of the estimated 1,000 people on campus the Title IX leaders have met with about the issue since August.

“We’re happy for people to know where our office is and who we are because more people are likely to report incidents to us if they do know who we are and not some scary office,” Gallimore said. “We’re here to make the campus safe and to help out.”

Tim Maness, an MU graduate assistant and student, said he went to the meeting to learn as much as possible to inform fellow students on campus. His main concern, which he said was the concern of several students he spoke with, was on what stays anonymous during a Title IX investigation.

“And that was addressed directly, so we do know a little bit more about that,” Maness said. “Reports can be made anonymously. Within the report, the student can remain anonymous if they so choose.”

The key message Gallimore wants students to learn is when to report an incident. She said, “If in doubt, just report it.”

“You providing us with information is always going to be a positive thing because we’ll investigate and make sure that there is no sex discrimination at hand in that case,” Gallimore said.

Title IX leaders hope to launch MU’s revised Title IX policy and procedures within the next couple of weeks. With that, they plan to reveal a new website to provide any information about Title IX and resources to report incidents online, or even from a cell phone.

Alongside this effort, the Safe Mizzou Coalition will hand out flashlights and safety information on the Mizzou Quad at 8:30 p.m. on Friday.