SGA discusses sexual assault education, DPS Student Advisory Committee

During the Feb. 21 Student Government Association (SGA) meeting, Dean of Students Trae Mitten addressed student concerns regarding the Office of Student Conduct and prior sexual assualt education at Southeast.

“We’ve lost [trust] over the last couple years on the way that we’re educating students about topics that are really important, like sexual violence and Title IX,” Mitten said. “Originally, we were using MyStudentBody for our incoming students, and that was supposed to be followed up with some presentations and some interactions during UI100 classes. That structure has changed, so we’ve lost that component.”

Prior sexual asault education for first-year seminar classes included MyStudentBody, an online education website covering topics such as consent and alcohol and drug use. Mitten said the university intends to expand sexual violence education to span multiple years of a student’s educational career at Southeast.

Mitten also cited a lack of trust between students and administration, the Office of Student Conduct and the Center for Behavioral Health and Accessibility.

Mitton, who took on the role of Dean of Students in Dec. 2021, said he hopes to “foster a sense of community” at Southeast.

“My goal is to really listen a lot to students, and then try to rebuild some of that trust that’s been lost over the last few years,” Mitton said.

During the executive and committee reports, University Affairs Chair Joel Philpott said SGA and the university recently formed a Department of Public Safety (DPS) Student Advisory Committee. Philpott said the committee meets once a month with Director of Public Safety Beth Glaus and four students who discuss student concerns regarding DPS.

“It serves a purpose for us to speak directly to her about, one, student concerns and student opinions on what she has planned. And two, just student safety around campus and addressing student issues,” Philpott said.

Other matters of business were discussed at the Feb. 21 meeting.

New student identification cards will be available after spring break, SGA advisor Michele Irby said. Incoming students who attend First Step orientations will also receive the new ID cards as well, Irby said.

SGA President Layla Bouzihay said the Board of Governors will meet Friday, Feb. 25, to vote on the proposed meal plan.

Student Government Association meets every Monday night in the University Center at 8 p.m. A livestream of the meeting is available on the Arrow’s Facebook page.