Upon opening the 2016-17 Student Guide: Responding to Sexual Misconduct, intimate partner violence, and stalking manual the reader is greeted with a bold message. It states, in large font:
“Members of the Gustavus Adolphus College community, guests and visitors have the right to be treated with respect and should be free from sexual misconduct, stalking, and intimate partner violence. While our campus is safe, it is not immune to issues such as these.”
The goal to make Gustavus as exempt from these incidents as possible was the driving force behind the hiring of Justine Stein, the new Title IX director here at Gustavus. She works alongside Steve Bennett, Julie Kline, and Julie Bartley to enforce and educate students about Title IX.
Steve Bennett, one of the deputy Title IX directors here at Gustavus for the past four years, says that the position was important to create because “sexual harassment and harassment in general is not compatible with the missions [of Gustavus] and our identity” as a school.
Furthermore, administration wanted to make sure that they are “building on the work that has been done here to keep the campus safe and prevent sexual misconduct.”
Stein’s main motivation to pursue this job was due to her “always having a passion for sexual misconduct prevention.”
During her undergraduate studies she was involved in student organizations that dealt with issues such as those addressed in Title IX.
According to Bennett, Stein’s position was created to make sure that “the campus is compliant with the law.”
Bartley, also involved with Title IX here on campus, says that Stein was chosen because “she had the perfect combination of all the things they [we] were looking for.”
The committee was looking for someone who could “deal with both the legal side of Title IX and the education and prevention pieces of it as well.”
Moreover, the committee saw that Stein has a “visionary plan for where we are going in the future” in regards to Title IX here at Gustavus.
Title IX is incredibly important to create equity between all peoples, and to Stein it is important for this reason and more. She says that it is incredibly important because it was “created to help deal with equity when it comes to sexual discrimination and harassment.”
Title IX has existed since 1972 and was recently updated in 2011 to include sexual violence. According to the Student Guide, sexual misconduct includes: non-consensual sexual contact. Non-consensual sexual intercourse, sexual exploitation, intimate partner violence, and stalking. There are many resources available at Gustavus, but most notably SART and CADA.
SART, also known as Gustavus’ Sexual Assault Response Team, was put in action 10 years ago with the help of Bennett. SART is completely confidential and available all hours of the day every day of the week. CADA, otherwise known as Committee Against Domestic Abuse, is another resource available to help in situations involving Title IX issues. Neither SART nor CADA will act on anything unless one requests it.
One of Stein’s first goals as the director of Title IX at Gustavus is to forge connections to Gustavus’ community. This is because with “no connections…the investment in Title IX [at Gustavus] would not be as valuable.”
Stein has always been passionate about Title IX. This is proven through her rigorous study of it in graduate school and her dedication to it through taking the Title IX director at Gustavus.
She thinks “every aspect of Title IX is important, but where a lot of the reward comes from is the prevention piece [of sexual misconduct].”
Stein also wants to help spur a “shift in culture” surrounding sexual misconduct not only at Gustavus, but in Minnesota, and nationwide. She hopes to do so by meeting each person where they are at in their particular educational journey. She recognizes that everyone at Gustavus is at a different point in their lives and each will benefit from a different perspective of sexual misconduct.
Bennett has “Worked here 20 years and is pleased with how engaged the campus community has been in this very important topic.”
What Stein hopes people understand is that “very honored to be here and is excited for the possibility [to hold this position.”
“There is a lot of possibility at GAC because of the investment of the community on this topic” and if there are “Any questions or concerns feel free to contact anyone related to Title IX.”