As student affairs professionals, we often deal with sensitive information and policies. Students give institutions access to some very important information about themselves, and if proper care isn't taken, things like identity theft or other security breaches could happen. Additionally, policies are put into place for a variety of reasons - to protect the students, to product institution employees, or to protect the institution itself. All of these are important and ensure that an institution runs smoothly.

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ACPA and NASPA (2015) define this competency as including the "knowledge, skills, and dispositions relating to policy development processes used in various contexts, the application of legal constructs, compliance/policy issues, and the understanding of governance structures and their impact on one’s professional practice" (p. 22). It sounds very complicated, and in many cases it is. It is not unusual for institutions to have a legal department to assist them in a wide variety of legal matters in order to ensure they are complying with every part of the law. Nonetheless, it is our job to try and understand as best we can so we are not relying on legal departments for every matter.

 

To start really understanding the institution you work for, you should understand it's structure. Where do you fit in to the

overall picture of the university? What about your office? For my Administration and Organization in Higher Education

course in the Spring of 2016, I had to find a university office I was unfamiliar with and learn about the office - their

structure, their focus, their goals and initiatives, and so much more. I then had to describe the governance system

and analyze them through the lens of Bolman and Deal (2013). I chose to study Regis College's Office of Student

Programming & Leadership. To learn more about Regis's OSPL and my analysis, please click the PDF icon to the right. In analyzing an office I was unfamiliar with, I was then able to look at my own experience. This past July, MIT hired a new Vice President for Student Life, and this caused restructuring throughout the division. I was able to look at the previous governance system we had and compare it to our new structure, and identify some of the reasons that might be behind the changes. Additionally, changes have continued to happen through this academic year - small ones, but they are "growing pains" as the Division of Student Life and the VPSL find better ways of having pieces, or individual offices of the division, fit together.

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To take your understanding a step further, it's important to recognize that there are a variety of policies in place at both the federal and state level, and even the local level, that ensure universities in America operate effectively and efficiently. The United States Department of Education oversees much of the way all levels of education are run, from preschool right up to doctoral universities (Overview and Mission Statement, n.d.). Knowing the laws and how they affect students, faculty, and staff is a vital part of the field and will allow us to better support the campus community.

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For example, a very well-known law in higher education is Title IX. Title IX is one part of the Educational Amendments of 1972, and "protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive Federal financial assistance" (Title IX and Sex Discrimination, n.d.). In many ways, this law is extremely helpful. It's what allows universities to handle sexual assault concerns while protecting the victims. It prevents women, or minority races or religions, from being discriminated against. Unfortunately, this law is in need of serious updating in the fraternity and sorority world.

 

Fraternities and sororities are a group that have a special exemption from one aspect of Title IX. That exemption allows them to recruit and prevent membership based on sex. This is why fraternities are able to continue as all-male organizations and sororities are able to continue as all-female organizations, when most other groups on campus, including some sports teams, are not allowed to prevent anyone from joining based on sex.

 

Unfortunately, sex is not the same as gender (Evans, Forney, Guido, Patton, & Renn, 2010), which brings concerns up surrounding transgender students interested in fraternity or sorority membership. Additionally, students who identify outside of the gender binary are in a unique and complicated situation that may prevent them from joining either fraternities or sororities. I was fortunate enough to recognize my non-binary gender identity after I had joined my sorority and graduated, but for undergraduate students who identify outside of the gender binary, this causes concern and unhappy situations.

 

This past fall, I experienced a very difficult situation where a non-binary student wanted to join a sorority. At MIT, we already have some non-binary members, but they are federally reported as female by MIT. This student is federally reported as male, and many Inter/National Headquarters did not allow their MIT chapter to consider this student for membership, citing fears of losing their tax exemption granted through Title IX. I have been deeply bothered by this ever since, and have been conducting research to understand why this is the case, and how I can push for sororities to recognize transgender and non-binary students as being just as valid candidates for membership as any other student. It takes a lot of mental work, but being able to understand and articulate how these laws oppress marginalized, vulnerable students is so valuable in our abilities to support them.

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Now that I am able to understand and articulate how this Title IX exemption works, I am able to advocate for them. This past March, I joined my sorority's committee to write the policy on transgender and non-binary inclusion. Once it is passed by the International Governing Board and it's members, this policy will allow any potential new member not strictly identifying as male and seeking a woman-centered experience to join Delta Phi Epsilon. The policy is still in the works, but the committee is in agreement that both transgender women and non-binary students should be welcome in our sisterhood. I am excited to use my knowledge of both Title IX and gender identity development theories to make such a great change.

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References

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• ACPA/NASPA. (2015). Professional Competency Areas for Student Affairs Educators.

• Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (2013). Reframing Organizations (5th ed.). San Fransisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

• Evans, N. J., Forney, D. S., Guido, F. M., Patton, L. D., & Renn, K. A. (2010). Student Development in College (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

• Overview and Mission Statement. (n.d.). In U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved February 5, 2017, from https://www2.ed.gov/about/landing.jhtml

• Title IX and Sex Discrimination. (n.d.). In U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved March 21, 2017, from https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/tix_dis.html