WMU’s commitment to fostering a safe campus environment
There has been recent media coverage about a violation of Western Michigan University’s sexual misconduct policy that was reported, investigated and then adjudicated in 2018. Given the seriousness with which we take sexual misconduct, it’s important for the WMU community to be aware of as much of the background and facts related to this incident as can be revealed within the bounds of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the Violence Against Women Act and Title IX student privacy protections.
It is critically important for everyone in our community to be aware of the University's resources and policies designed to support and protect students and employees should they ever need help. Further, we strongly encourage anyone subjected to sexual misconduct to contact Institutional Equity to make a confidential report at (269) 387-6316 or online. Alongside our policies, the University offers an array of care and support resources. You can learn more about them on our Sexual Assault Prevention and Education page. They include tools students and employees can use to be advocates.
WMU has a longstanding commitment to fostering a safe environment, which has governed how the University has developed, carried out and examined policies related to sexual misconduct over many years. Before sexual abuse cases at major universities around the country rocked higher education, WMU took a proactive approach to developing its policies, including by inviting independent reviewers and collecting campuswide input.
The result has been that our policies are in line with national best practices and federal regulatory requirements. They have been designed to ensure accountability, fair treatment, due process and privacy.
The 2018 case that is today being covered by media outlets was initiated when a coach informed Institutional Equity that a student reported being subjected to sexual misconduct. The University investigated the allegation of nonconsensual sexual contact. The WMU divisions involved in the case—Institutional Equity, the Office of Student Conduct and Intercollegiate Athletics—conscientiously and carefully followed their established processes, which were in keeping with the requirements of federal regulations, case law, University policies and the aforementioned best practices.
At the conclusion of the investigation in 2018, the individual was found responsible for violating the University’s policy against nonconsensual sexual contact, and the University imposed sanctions that were proportional to the reported violation.
As we did then, Western takes seriously its role promoting prevention and reporting while advancing effective investigative, adjudicative and disciplinary policies and practices related to sexual misconduct. Nearly a decade ago, following a comprehensive review, Western instituted a campuswide sexual misconduct policy and established a full-time Title IX coordinator who assists individuals and departments regarding their rights and responsibilities and oversees investigations into sexual- and gender-based misconduct.
We take this important work so seriously that the coordinator has direct access to the WMU Board of Trustees, and regularly reports to the group. This practice of establishing unfettered access and regularly reporting to the University’s governing body was instituted to be a fail-safe to assure there is absolute transparency to the highest authority of the institution. These reports, while maintaining the confidentiality and privacy of any individuals involved in ongoing or completed investigations, play a key role in our continuous improvement process.
As part of that improvement process, the University has heavily invested in prevention as the best way to address sexual misconduct. The Title IX Committee, comprised of faculty, staff and students representatives, help shape policy, education and outreach concerning the elimination of sexual violence, harassment and discrimination. Some preventative activities, practices and programs WMU has implemented include:
• Enhanced training and education programs, including access to online prevention modules for all students and employees.
• Utilizing funding from five years of major state of Michigan grants to increase prevention education and expand our bystander training, known as the Western H.E.R.O.E.S program.
• Western H.E.R.O.E.S. trains bystanders to:
-Notice what is Happening
-Evaluate the situation
-Take Responsibility by becoming the one who does something
-Obtain the Education and training to know how to safely intervene, and
-Step up to make a difference.
• Completion of campuswide sexual violence campus climate surveys to gain insights from students and employees.
• Partnering with the YWCA to provide support, legal resources, advocacy and prevention education services.
While there is always room to improve and no acceptable level of violence, Western Michigan University has been committed to continuing to combat violence, harassment, sexual misconduct and other forms of abuse. That’s why the University has policies and conscientious professionals in place to hold people appropriately accountable for misconduct and to provide support resources for those who need them.