On April 4, 2011 the U.S. Department of Education and the Office of Civil Rights decided that all universities have to comply with Title IX regulations which states that “no person in the United States shall on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance.” Sexual assault, sexual battery and sexual coercion are all included under this law. Sexual assault according to the Texas Penal Code Section 22.011 is any sexual contact that is non-consensual.
According to Title IX, if a student has been sexually violated in any way they must contact the local Title IX coordinator in the Office of the Dean of Students.
Director of police operations Patrick Coggins describes sexual assault and the process of dealing with a sexual assault case on WTAMU campus.
“If a person is a victim of sexual assault they are strongly encouraged to immediately come to the university police department,” Coggins said.
Some universities, however, rely on student conduct boards to handle the discipline of rapists, rather than the campus police, according to the article “Deans Are out Of Their Depth: Sexual Assault on College Campuses” on wbur.org.
“Deans are out of their depth by assigning the task of disciplining rapists to students conduct boards. Sexual assault is a crime, not an infraction of the college handbook. Colleges should do what they do best-teach-by beginning where good teaching always begins-with a healthy dose of candor and humility,” the article stated.
According to the West Texas A&M Activities report there have been 13 rapes since 2002.
“Sexual assaults are not reported that frequently here at WT,” Jim Gibbs, an M.D. at Student Medical Services said. “Most of the cases that are reported are acquaintance rape situations rather than strangers off the street.”
Alcohol generally plays a big role in rape situations according to Gibbs. However, SMS does their best in order to provide the best care possible to victims.
SMS also partners with Counseling Services to make sure students are taken care of after a traumatic event like sexual assault.
“Here at Counseling Services we would help a victim of sexual assault process what happened,” Leann Gabels, a Student Counseling Services professional counselor said. “This would include helping them deal with feeling safe and [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder]. We also use a computer program called biofeedback to help manage stress.”
WT’s website on their policies and procedures regarding Title IX states that “even if the criminal justice authorities choose not to prosecute, the campus can pursue disciplinary action and the complainant can file a civil suit. In addition to rape, as defined by Texas law, the University will not tolerate any non-consensual penetration, and will take appropriate action when such acts are reported.”
