Funding needed to address sexual assault

Title IX offers little to no protection of university students. According to the Department of Education, Title IX is supposed to protect against any sex-based discrimination. This policy was put in place to help protect students in the case of sexual assault, but does not do so.

This act requires universities to put programs in place to help raise awareness to students about how to prevent sexual assault and how to help potential victims. What this act does not do is provide guidelines on how to protect those who have already been assaulted.

Without a law telling them what to do, universities underfund these programs making them unequipped to handle these types of situations. The amount of money allocated to mental health is significantly less than other programs on campus.

As a college student, I can see the impact caused by the lack of funding to mental health programs. Bigger universities, such as the University of Illinois can average around 1,500 students per guidance counselor. With each guidance counselor being in charge of so many students, to make an appointment you have to call the day of, exactly when, or within 10 minutes of the office opening. If by the time a student calls, the appointments for the day are booked, that student is just out of luck. Their only option then is to stay on the line and talk to someone over a crisis hotline.

In the case of an emergency, talking to someone on the phone will only do so much. It is crucial that Title IX changes protect everyone, not just potential victims. We need to encourage universities to give more funding to mental health resources to ensure that students will not have to fear being unable to access them when they may desperately need.

Bailey Hammer

Minooka