Inclusivity training is critical step in educating UI community
At the end of last semester, University of Idaho administration announced all university employees were required to take a mandatory inclusivity training that covered UI’s discrimination policy and Title IX, among other topics.This was a great step for our university in protecting all employees on campus who may face discrimination.
Jessy Forsmo-Shadid | Argonaut
However, it wasn’t very long ago UI had its own issues with Title IX. Last May, UI was among 55 colleges listed as having open sexual assault investigations by the Department of Education. The release of the list sent shock waves through higher education and served as a huge wake-up call to administrators.
Given the Title IX difficulties, it is promising that UI is doing something to educate as many people as possible about harassment, discrimination and sexual harassment. Creating a safe campus and work environment is critical to any university, and it’s great to see UI taking a positive step in furthering this goal.
Title IX prohibits discrimination based off of sex in all educational institutions that receive federal funds. Many people think of athletics when they think of Title IX, but it is also used to protect those who have been harassed, discriminated against or sexual assaulted.
UI is determined to make a safe environment for its employees and its students. One of the ways to ensure safety at UI is to speak up if a person is not in a safe environment on campus.
During the inclusivity training each employee goes through different scenarios of what it might look like if someone were to violate Title IX. This not only helps employees identify potential danger, but it also provides them with the knowledge of what to do next.
The training also laid out what resources are available when someone is in need. The training was quick to tell workers about the many resources on campus, including the Office of Human Rights, Access and Inclusion. Having a policy that has all employees take the online training was a fantastic idea.
Students are here to get a higher education, and they can’t do this when they are not protected or if employees aren’t sure how to protect them.
This leaves us all on the same page.
It is important to have the people who represent the university understand how to handle hard situations or circumstances that are often times swept under the rug in higher education. Another plus of UI’s action is that every UI student worker also had to take the training. This way, more students will know how to help their peers when a situation arises.
As students, this gives us a much different perspective because we usually talk about stopping harassment, discrimination and sexual harassment, but this gives us platform. We are now able to do something about it.
Many student workers now have the power to help make a change and know exactly what is expected of them. We can finally say there are no longer any blurred lines.
Jessy Forsmo-Shadid can be reached at [email protected]