Educators filled in on social media policies

STAFF WRITER

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Eastern New Mexico University officials received an education in campus social media policies this week at a web seminar held Tuesday in the Campus Union Building.

Sexual harassment through social media was one of the topics discussed at a presentation called “When Social Media and Title IX Collide: What Colleges Need to Know About Gossip Sites, Free Speech and Proactive Policies.”

Title IX is a comprehensive federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity.

“One of the issues across the border is the challenge of keeping up-to-date with the vast variety of technology (and) websites that our students are using,” said Brian Van Brunt, National Center for Higher Education Risk Management Group senior vice president of professional program development.

Van Brunt said social media expanded to include anonymous and private platforms including Yik-Yak, “the bane of social media issues for a while.”

He added that the way people use these sites can lead to potential Title IX violations.

Gehring Academy Faculty Member Miranda Perry, who led the webinar with Van Brunt, discussed the importance of social media guidelines in institutions and protecting Title IX.

“You always have to go back to your code,” said Perry. “What does free speech mean and what impact will it have? Students say things for a reason. We have to be willing to look at that.”

Van Brunt said Title IX investigators at universities should understand threat risk factors which include directly communicated and organized threats that may focus on specific people or places.

Perry said faculty must understand what their roles are when dealing with potential Title IX cases.

“The student who has been accused has not been proven to do anything,” said Perry. “We cannot put ourselves in the role of the student who has been the complainant. We have to maintain neutral ground.”

Van Brunt and Perry said understanding potential Title IX violations comes from acknowledging a student’s motives, what they were thinking and feeling at the time of the post and why they used a particular social media site to attack someone.

“This is where your code and policy procedures are so important,” said Perry. “Consistency is key and must be done in ways that the student can understand.”

Van Brunt and Perry also said that conduct conversations must point out the meanings of social media, privacy concerns and knowing that a person is being affected by someone’s post.

“Definitions of social media are that it is very social,” said Perry. “We can see this. You’re not the only people out there.”