UI student sexual misconduct committee holds first meeting

A group of University of Iowa students named to the president's new 'student advisory committee on sexual misconduct” met with administrators for the first time Monday to discuss how to help combat sexual violence on campus.

The 14-member committee, which was convened as part of the six-point plan President Sally Mason rolled out in February to 'confront” the problem of sex assault, will continue to meet regularly during the academic year and at other times as needed.

During its first meeting Monday, the group received its charge, chose leaders and set goals.

Its objectives include advising Mason on the impact of policies and practices related to the prevention and response of sexual misconduct, soliciting input from a wide range of students to inform its advice to the president, and monitoring progress on UI plans, according to UI News Services.

The group's members were chosen from a pool of 175 applicants. Members include Carter Bell, a UI student senator and president of the University Democrats, Kira Pasquesi, a doctorate student representing the graduate and professional student government, and Elizabeth Rook, one of the UI graduate students who helped organize protests on campus earlier this semester.

Grant Laverty, a UI undergraduate student and fraternity member, was chosen to chair the group, and Pasquesi was named vice chair. They will help lead future meetings and attend meetings of the UI Anti-Violence Coalition.

Laverty, as a fraternity member, said he believes it's important to be involved in helping find solutions to the problem of sexual assault, according to UI News Services. Pasquesi, according to a news release, said she hopes to bring her perspective as a former undergraduate and current graduate student to the conversation.

Georgina Dodge, UI Title IX Coordinator, moderated the meeting Monday and said the hope is that the committee will improve communication between administrators and the wider student body.

'This group will be very valuable in helping to improve communication with students, letting them know what the university is doing to address sexual misconduct while providing a means for direct student input,” Dodge said in a news release. 'As thought leaders who are involved in many different aspects of campus life, the group will help us connect with a wide range of students.”

Protests erupted on campus earlier this semester following a string of warning emails about sexual misconduct on campus and after Mason told the student newspaper that ending sexual assault on campus was 'probably not a realistic goal.”

Mason responded by apologizing, hosting a listening post on the subject and announcing a six-point plan to combat sexual misconduct by cracking down on offenders, increasing support for survivors, improving prevention and education, improving communication, adding funding and resources to address the problem and listening more and reporting back on the topic.