With the Cornell case taking center stage on social media, let’s talk about Holy Cross‘s own Title IX office. Before going ahead with a topic, for those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, in 2024 female student Jane Doe was wronged by seven offenders and fifty bystanders. When confronted with this, the Cornell Office of Title IX made the offenders write an essay and placed few sanctions. The case calls into question how college administrations treat cases and whose side they really take. Let’s now talk about our own office. Let’s talk about a maybe milder, but recent story that happened on our campus.
During orientation last year, Juno (alias, of course), met a person on campus and held one conversation with him in a breakout group. After that she kept seeing him around campus. At first she thought it was normal but then it became more serious. When Juno was studying, he would be around, not doing anything except facing her and staring. One time while she was studying in Rehm Library, he was sitting on the grassy slope outside, doing nothing except watching her. Her roommate as well as several others sometimes would see him pacing outside of their ground level dorm. After four months she went to the Office of Title IX. She didn’t go sooner because she was worried about being wrong. Three others have faced the same experience with this man, and also brought it to Title IX. Aside from those informed by the victims themselves, no one knows what he did and he’s still allowed on campus, free from the burden of misconduct. The Office of Title IX should be more proactive in their approach to cases, especially when a person is repeatedly reported. Remember that in court a first time offense like this would still be a year of jail time. I now ask you the reader: Is this fair? Did the Office of Title IX really uphold the justice they claim to stand for? What does it say about our school that it could disregard these actions? What kind of environment does it lead to, where there are no consequences for behavior that endangers the student population? I personally am disgusted by a school that claims to serve a higher good but sits on its hands when faced with an issue it could resolve. Holy Cross, where is your line?
Copy edited by Kimberly Von Randow ’28
Featured image courtesy of College of the Holy Cross
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