The Title IX Office hired a new deputy coordinator and is hoping to educate students about what happens when they report sexual misconduct through new videos, rebranding, and an emphasis on training BYU–Hawaii staff. A senior missionary and two Title IX employees shared what they wish students knew about their office, including the difference between Title IX and Honor Code, as well as how much the people at Title IX care about the students who come to them.
The new deputy coordinator
Patricia Abbott said she came to work at BYUH in November after she and her husband decided to move to Hawaii. “I have a background working in domestic violence, and I am an attorney. I graduated from law school in 2003 from BYU Law. I spent the first nine years of my career working for non-profits [regarding] domestic violence and family life.
“My husband and I decided to come to Hawaii. I was very fortunate to find this job opening because this is really where I like to work. I love helping survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.”
Title IX Coordinator and Vice President for Student Development and Services Debbie Hippolite Wright said of Abbott, “The Lord provided her. No [doubts] about it. We needed her....We prayed during our selection. We went through our processes, as we should, but we also let the Spirit guide who should be here. We believe that. I’m so thankful for Patti. She’s really someone special.
“We had so many excellent candidates.” Hippolite Wright said Abbott stood out above all the other candidates for the position. “Patti is smart, compassionate, organized. She takes initiative. She’s got fabulous experience, knowledge of the law, and knows how to conduct investigations. She’s open to training.
“If you don’t know Patti, go meet her. Go sit down and have a chat. She’s positive. She’s mature ... She has immersed herself in the work of Title IX, the outreach, and investigations.”
Cheryl Cozzens, a hale coordinator and licensed therapist who has worked with the Title IX Office, said working with Abbott has been great. “She’s been proactive, and she has a real passion for helping students who have been victims. She does a great job.
“I’ve only been here six months and the girls I have sent to [Patti] to work with have had nothing but positive praise for her and have felt very comfortable in talking to her. That has been really comforting to me. We’ve launched a couple of programs working on prevention and working on getting the students to come forward sooner and get help.”
Initiatives for 2019
According to Hippolite Wright, “We are doing so many things. We have our entire year planned out. A video on bystander training will come out. It will also be part of an online training piece for all faculty and staff, and probably students as well.”
According to her, Title IX has also been rebranded with new posters, banners, bookmarks, and brochures. “We always have our contact information. One hundred percent of our students getting their IDs will have some kind of training. We want it to be good and it’s very informative.”
Abbott said, “We have another bystander awareness campaign that we are kicking off. We’re here to reach out students, even if they are busy.
“Sister Cozzens is a trained psychologist. In her work, she noticed a lot of students come to her saying they have been hurt by relationships, whenever it is sexual misconduct from another party. So, she did two different training sessions on avoiding relationship pitfalls, sexual grooming, and manipulation in relationships. The goal there is to start a conversation about relationship violence.”
Cozzens said, “We are hoping for a senior couple to be called to head the committee. All of us are so busy. We can’t run the committee to keep things rolling. That’s where we’ve had difficulty. We’re all buried in doing the things we normally do. We need a committee, a club, or a couple to spearhead it, keep it rolling, and get people involved.”
Hippolite Wright further shared, “We have new videos. We had the Consent video, the End the Cycle video, and the Bystander video is coming out soon. We’ve done far more outreach to say every person who is walking around this community should be on the Rave Guardian App.
“We’re trying to do prevention. We want to demystify sexual assault and Title IX. We want to be talking about things like healthy relationships, when somebody’s being manipulative in a relationship, looking for the tell-tale signs of someone being controlled emotionally, psychologically, and physically.”
Another emphasis of the Title IX Department, she said, is focusing on additional training for BYUH employees. “What we’re doing this upcoming year is we’re moving to a campus safety training program. We’re purchasing a training program. What we like about it for Title IX is it has content in there already, but we can also add our own content.”
What students should know about Title IX
Concerned about Title IX’s reputation Abbott said, “It is easy to have a false impression of Title IX as an adversary, or looming presence, that might be out to get you. That is completely untrue. Our purpose is to help students. When a student comes to me, it is important that reporting parties have amnesty surrounding events that are close in time to what they are reporting. We are never looking for reasons to victimize them. We are just looking to help.
“So, if they come in and they have been a victim of sexual misconduct or harassment, we just try to help. First, I try to evaluate the case to make sure they are safe, then we see what kinds of accommodations we can put in place to fix what is not working. If they need to go to court, we can help them go to court; temporary restraining orders. We do a lot of things I don’t think the students know about.
“We can make sure students get access to Counseling Services, to medical services, accommodations with classes, employment or housing. The more people know about us the more we can help … I think sexual violence is underreported. No one ever needs be ashamed to come forward to us.
Cozzens made a distinction between Title IX and Honor Code. “I would want them to know [Title IX] is not Honor Code. They are not going to get ratted out and sent home.
“The purpose of Title IX is to be supportive and help them through the process, heal, and with a variety of strategies. Whether it is getting through the court process, setting up a temporary restraining order to keep the person off campus, or sending the person home.”
Hippolite Wright said she wants students to know, “We’re methodical and impassioned about what we are doing. We want to be sensitive to the needs of those men or women who come through here. Whether the assault is same gender or opposite gender, that is not an issue for us. It is fair and impartial.
“The other piece is amnesty. Let’s say somebody was at a party where drinking and drugs were going on, and that person was sexually assaulted. They can come to Title IX and know they have amnesty at or near the time of the assault. They don’t have to worry about getting kicked out of school if they come and report. Regardless of whether somebody was using marijuana or drinking, no one deserves to be violated.”
Hippolite Wright said she wants students to know Title IX is going to be there for them through the entire investigation process. Students can begin the healing process by reporting sexual misconduct and the members of the Title IX staff will help the students get the help they need and do whatever it takes to make the student feel comfortable on campus.
The process that occurs when a student comes to Title IX is another thing Hippolite Wright emphasized. She said her fear is students don’t know what happens when they report something, so they don’t report because they are scared and unsure. “I want them to know we’re committed. As far as preventing, stopping, and then remediating or helping with coming out of all of this. That’s who we are.”
The BYUH Title IX Office is on the second floor of the Lorenzo Snow Administrative Building. Its phone number is (808) 675-4819.
Writer: Haeley van der Werf and Noah Shoaf