The Student Senate passed a Title IX resolution at their meeting on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
The resolution states that Lehigh\u2019s Title IX protections remain the same as they have been in lieu of recent incidents.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Senate President Drew Smith, \u201827, said the resolution passed because especially with the civil case at Cornell and the federal regulations being rolled back, the Senate deemed it important to make a stance on protecting gender-based violence at Lehigh with all going on both at Lehigh and across the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jazeera Avila, \u201829, head of the student rights committee, said the resolution was prompted by another senator at the previous meeting, who said there were some changes in the federal level of Title IX protections.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On Sept. 28, The Department of Education released a statement<\/a> which said Title IX protections would be reversed to enforce the 2020 Title IX regulations, prohibiting discrimination against sexual orientation and gender identity.<\/p>\n The senator was concerned whether these changes would affect Lehigh students, especially considering the decisions Lehigh makes as a private institution.\u200b\u200b<\/p>\n The resolution emphasizes that Lehigh\u2019s Title IX policies won\u2019t change despite federal legislation which no longer protects students who experience sex and gender-based violence.\u00a0<\/p>\n While federal Title IX protections may not explicitly state the inclusive protections for transgender and gender-nonconforming students, Lehigh\u2019sTitle IX policies have and will continue to apply protections based on gender identity and sexual orientation through its dual resolution framework.<\/p>\n The resolution mentions the recent civil lawsuit regarding an the alleged rape<\/a> at a Cornell University\u2019s Chi Phi fraternity house in 2024 and the investigation of Lehigh\u2019s Sigma Phi Delta<\/a> after a sexually explicit message was sent to first-year students.\u00a0<\/p>\n According to Senate, the resolution demonstrates that gender-based harm and sexual violence persist across all campuses and that students cannot depend on federal protections alone.<\/p>\n The university\u2019s principles of equitable community<\/a>, and policy on harassment and non-discrimination<\/a> allows Lehigh to go in greater depth on what constitutes policy violation than the federal level will.<\/p>\n Student Senate said they will uphold unwavering commitment to fostering a safe and inclusive campus environment and endeavors to uphold the belonging for all students.<\/p>\n