BERWYN, Pa., Nov. 10, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — ATIXA pens this open letter to the leaders of both the North American Interfraternity Conference and the National Panhellenic Conference, Jud Horras and Donna King, respectively, based on their support of the SAFE Campus Act.
Logo – http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151109/285351LOGO
To the Leadership of the NIC and NPC and their member organizations:
ATIXA writes you today regarding your endorsement and financial support of the SAFE Campus Act. Since 2011, a positive transformation has occurred in higher education. Once reticent to address campus sexual violence, and ill-equipped to do so, higher education has risen to the challenge of effectively addressing campus sexual and gender-based violence. ATIXA is not suggesting that campuses are perfect, but victims are coming forward in greater and greater numbers, and accessing needed services, resources, and pathways to resolution. True progress has been made. Contrary to the title of the SAFE Campus Act, the proposed legislation will not make our campuses safer. This bill, if passed and signed into law, is intended to return our campuses to the pre-2011 status quo where most reports of sexual assault were deferred to a criminal justice system that is ill-equipped to handle such reports, and where most victims feared to come forward and received no resources or resolution at all.
ATIXA is the country's largest membership association of Title IX Administrators. This association of more than 4,000 professionals is dedicated to compliance with Title IX and related legislation, and to advancing the professional development of those who lead campus efforts to prevent and remediate sex and gender discrimination. ATIXA writes you on their behalf.
The proposed legislation would have a number of adverse effects on the ability of campuses to adequately address sexual violence and provide a safe campus experience for students. As an association dedicated to preserving the right of all students to have a collegiate experience free from gender-based harassment, ATIXA's leaders view several provisions of this legislation as problematic.
As organizations whose missions are to serve the interests of undergraduate students, our leadership finds your support of this legislation to be in stark contrast to your stated missions. If passed, the SAFE Campus Act would roll back the protections afforded to students through Title IX, making it more difficult for students to seek equitable resolutions to incidents of sexual violence and gender discrimination.
On behalf of all ATIXA members, our team calls on the leadership of the NPC and the NIC, as well as the leadership of your member organizations, to immediately and publicly withdraw your support of this legislation.
Sincerely,
Brett A. Sokolow, Esq.
Executive Director, ATIXA
President & CEO, The NCHERM Group, LLC
W. Scott Lewis, J.D.
Partner, The NCHERM Group, LLC
ATIXA Advisory Board Member
Saundra K. Schuster, Esq.
Partner, The NCHERM Group, LLC
ATIXA Advisory Board Member
Daniel C. Swinton, J.D., Ed.D.
Managing Partner, The NCHERM Group, LLC
ATIXA Advisory Board Member
Gentry McCreary, Ph.D.
Consultant, The NCHERM Group, LLC
ATIXA
1109 Lancaster Avenue · Berwyn, PA 19312
Phone: 610-644-7858
Fax: 610-993-0228
www.atixa.org
Media Contact:
Michelle Issadore, M.Ed., Assistant Executive Director of Prevention and Advocacy
Email
610-993-0229