Provo, Utah – Wednesday, October 26, 2016, BYU finally came to the realization that their Honor Code and Title IX regulations weren’t coming together when reporting any type of sexual assaults. This issue has caused BYU some serious scrutiny, as well as national attention.
Up till Wednesday, students would fear to report any assault, for fear that the Honor Code would suspend or expel the student. This means that if a female student decided to start making out with her boyfriend clothes came off, but he wanted more and wasn’t taking no for an answer, then she would have been punished for going as far as she did up till the “no” was set in motion. This also means that if any student, male or female, decided to be a college student and go drink for a night, then get assaulted by another student, they would face punishment for drinking prior to the assault. It’s a crying shame and no wonder why BYU has fewer reported assaults than it does, as students are living in fear to report them in worry that they will get kicked out of school.
What exactly happened on Wednesday was that BYU finally decided to separate the Honor Code office from the Title IX office, making a full time position for Title IX Director, and essentially making it so they don’t correlate with the other, anymore.
The overall thoughts here are that it’s about damn time for BYU to step up and do that. Students should be able to feel safe, on campus and safe enough to report without any retaliation or repercussion. Good job, BYU, for finally stepping up to the plate and joining other universities in something that’s old news.
