Richardson Ballroom opened its doors to interested students for a meeting hosted by the Council of Student Leaders (CSL) with Kevin Sheppard on January 19th at 7 p.m.
He began with a presentation aimed at educating the student body about the inner workings and requirements of the Title IX process.
He then showed a TEDx video featuring Keith Edwards about the nature of Rape Culture as a “Men’s Issue”. Sheppard says he wants to invite Edwards to Winthrop’s campus at a later date.
He answered questions from a Google Form that attendees had submitted upon their arrival. The questions submitted inquired about the content of the interim policy, his superiors, his qualifications, and other topics related to his experience and intent at the University. He also talked at length about the importance of the student body’s involvement in overhauling the Title IX process.
The student body’s reaction to the event, however, appears to be less than optimistic.
“I felt like there were a lot of questions he didn’t really answer” says Kimberly Boensch, Junior Mass Communications Major. “One girl asked about what constitutes evidence when it comes to sexual assault cases that are isolated incidents…He went on about how you really need evidence for a case, but didn’t really answer her question. He seemed to dance around [his] points.”
Student Boyd President and Event Moderator, Erin Emiroglu asserted that while she did not agree with Sheppard’s assessment of the renovated Student Safety Training, in which he gave the training an 89% grade, she is confident in his commitment to his title and to the Winthrop community.
Sheppard reiterated several times that he wants to meet with anyone who is willing to provide their input. He stated how he has pre-emptively reached out to approximately 70 different students, highlighting his apparent willingness to get the ball rolling on his work at Winthrop.
The current Title IX policy will be revised in April, following the Biden Administration’s own revisions happening around that time.
Sheppard said there would be more events coming up in the near future to further educate Winthrop’s community. Plans are now underway to establish a Student Title IX Leadership Program that would allow students to have a greater say in the marketing, rebranding, and education of the culture surrounding Title IX on campus.
Kevin Sheppard may be contacted via email at TitleIX@winthrop.edu, or at his temporary office in Tillman Hall room 210.
Image Courtesy of Ainsley McCarthy