On Tuesday night, members of the John Carroll community gathered for a discussion sponsored by Student Government surrounding interpersonal violence on campus. The forum was led by Emily Sherwood, John Carroll’s Title IX coordinator, and Jamie Greenwolf, JCU’s Assistant Director of Student Wellbeing. 

Student Government president Jacob Kozlowski ‘24 opened the event by reiterating his initiative to raise awareness and, ultimately, stop sexual violence on John Carroll’s campus. In his inaugural address, Kozlowski said, “On day one, we start with the issue of interpersonal violence on our campus… I ask you to join this conversation. Join the conversation to end sexual violence.” 

After a brief introduction, Sherwood began with an overview of what Title IX is and what the process looks like on campus. According to The United States Department of Justice, Title IX states “No person in the U.S. shall, on the basis of sex be excluded from participation in, or denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving federal aid.”

With the Title IX law being used as the foundation of the discussion, Sherwood emphasized how John Carroll operates within the law and how the university has created its own policy. Sherwood said, “There’s a lot of regulation governing what Title IX looks like and what we’re allowed to do. It doesn’t mean that we have no freedom to change our policy, but it does mean we have some pretty strict boundaries that we work within.”

The Title IX process that dictates John Carroll policies consists of a report being filed by the complainant and, if next steps are taken, federal law mandates that a hearing takes place where both the complainant and respondent can be cross examined by the advisors of each. 

Specifically trained faculty and staff members, “…serve as facilitators of an informal resolution process (either Pre-Complaint Resolution or Agreed Resolutions after a Formal Complaint has been filed), Investigators, members of a Complaint Review Panel (“CRP”), Process Advisors, or members of the Appeal Review Panel (“ARP”).  The Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion or designee, in consultation with the Title IX Coordinator, appoints the Ad Hoc Title IX Officers annually,” according to the John Carroll website. 

While taking questions, Sherwood stated that Title IX Coordinators “ … recognize how important the work is, which I really appreciate. So I want people who are going to be committed to that, but these are people that are not receiving any extra pay. They’re not receiving any additional benefit to be a part of that. They just know that work is important.”

The event concluded after both Sherwood and Greenwolf fielded questions from a sizable audience composed of students and faculty alike. Emma Arrighi ‘25 attended the event and told The Carroll News, “I think that Emily Sherwood provided some very good information about the Title IX office and she seemed to care a lot about what she does. But I worry that because she works within the institution of John Carroll, her ability to bring justice is restricted.” 

Regarding the event, Kozlowski told The Carroll News, “The turnout shows students are in this fight as much as I am. Students that attended demonstrated that confronting this issue head-on is a priority and finding meaningful solutions is a must.”

This will be the first of many efforts headed by Kozlowski’s cabinet to help put an end to interpersonal violence on the campus of John Carroll University. “This event was just the beginning, and I hope more students will continue to join this conversation in the next few months.”