President McDavis formally charged the Presidential Advisory Council on Sexual Misconduct, which will give recommendations to him by May on how to best address sexual misconduct on campus and in Athens.
Ohio University President Roderick McDavis has charged university and local officials with creating a plan to eradicate sexual misconduct in Athens.
The Presidential Advisory Council on Sexual Misconduct will have to submit a report to McDavis that addresses topics such as risk reduction programming, grievance and adjudication processes and victim advocacy by May.
The committee comes after a controversial year at OU and in Athens. About a year ago, a public sex act on Court Street — that was initially reported as an alleged rape — threw OU into the national spotlight.
An advocacy group, F--kRapeCulture began organizing students to speak out against sexual assault and the perceived culture at OU that allows rape. Student Senate and other OU organizations have also joined in the national call to action to eliminate rape on college campuses.
Currently, the council doesn’t have minority representation, which some council members criticized its at its Friday meeting, said Michelle Pride, a representative from OU’s Office of Counseling and Psychological Services.
“(There’s) a lack of diversity … We’re a fairly homogenous group,” Pride said.
Of the about 20 council members who attended the first meeting, all were white, and only three were men.
“And also, not just in terms of people of color, but also the issues of queer and trans students that often get left out of the (conversation are not present on the council),” said Patty Stokes, a professor of women’s, gender and sexuality studies.
The first meeting, which was guided by co-chairs Jenny Hall-Jones, dean of students, and Dianne Bouvier, OU’s Title XI coordinator and director of the Office of Institutional Equity, aimed to address these initial concerns.
Only two students, who were nominated by Graduate Student Senate and Student Senate, currently sit on the council. Subcommittees may be formed later to incorporate more students when discussing specific topics, Bouvier said.
“Student voices are critical for this work,” she added.
Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle and OU Police Chief Andrew Powers said they collectively see between 30 and 35 cases of sexual assault each year. Pyle said he hopes to bring a police perspective to the conversation about sexual misconduct processes.
“Law enforcement takes a lot of criticism or receives a lot of criticism for what I think is disparity (between advocacy and administrative processes), which is perceived as insensitivity,” he said.
Several members are not directly affiliated with the university, such as Kelly Cooke, executive director of My Sister’s Place. Additionally, a representative from OU’s Southern Campus will sit on the council.
“This committee is broad intentionally,” said Ryan Lombardi, vice president for Student Affairs. “While students are absolutely our focus, we have responsibility for a broader audience in addition to (students).”
McDavis vowed to create the council at a Board of Trustees meeting in late August, after the board asked for a report on the topic.
“I think we’ve been doing a lot of right things,” McDavis said to the council members last Friday. “But there may be some other things we can do to help and encourage the good work that is already underway and to reduce the negative behavior that we see not only on our campus but also in our little part of society.”
Hall-Jones said the committee will meet monthly, though more work and compilation of recommendations will be done outside of the large group.
“We want to go from being in a good place on this issue to being in an exceptional place and really being a model,” Lombardi said.
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