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Volume 54, Issue 27 | FRIday, october 4, 2019 | ndsmcobserver.com
University addresses Title IX updates Notre Dame responds to U.S. Secretary of Education’s new rules replacing Obama-era guidelines By NATALIE WEBER Assistant Managing Editor
The University moved its Title IX office to the Office of Institutional Equity this summer and has been preparing for national changes to Title IX rules by submitting a public comment on new proposed regulations. University administrators said the Student Title IX Service’s move will have little impact on how Notre Dame handles cases of sexual misconduct. Notre Dame also does not anticipate major changes to its process in areas where universities may be granted more f lexibility under the new regulations.
Why the moved
office
was
Student Title IX Services, which formerly operated “as a support service within the Division of Student Affairs,” moved to the Office of Institutional Equity due to the departure of Bill Stackman, former associate vice president for student services. Vice president for student affairs Erin Hoffmann Harding said when looking for someone to take on Stackman’s Title IX responsibilities, she turned to Erin Oliver, an assistant vice president who oversees the DIANE PARK | The Observer
see TITLE IX PAGE 5
Metal detectors deployed at stadium entrances By TOM NAATZ Notre Dame News Editor
As students and fans made their way into Notre Dame Stadium ahead of the first two home games of the 2019 football season, they may have noticed an additional layer of security outside the gate. In the past, fans only underwent a bag check before having their tickets scanned. Now game patrons have to pass through metal detectors before entering the stadium. Vice president for campus safety and University operations Mike Seamon said the addition of metal detectors, also known as magnetometers, constitutes the most noticeable new security measure for the season. “The most, I think, visible change from 2018 season to 2019 is the introduction of magnetometers — or ‘mags’ as everyone refers to [them], or metal detectors,” he said. Seamon explained the metal detectors are designed to look for very specific items — namely
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weapons. Accordingly, everyday metal items — such as cell phones and keys — do not need to be removed, or “divested,” from pockets because they will not set off the magnetometers. “They’re looking for guns, knives, anything that could be used as a weapon,” Seamon said. “I’m not going to go into the technicalities, but it’s a very intelligent system. And so it’s been interesting, the first two games watching people take stuff out and be like, ‘where’s the bucket that I put it? ’ And you’re like, ‘no, just keep walking, keep walking at what I call a normal pace.’” On Saturday, there will be signs outside the stadium instructing attendees not to remove items from their pockets so that traffic runs more smoothly. “We’re going to add signs that say you don’t have to empty your pockets … just to help people,” he said. “But I also think I’ve seen it, definitely between New Mexico and Virginia. Just like the bag policy, everybody gets
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more used to it with every game. They get a routine.” One of the motivating factors behind the change, Seamon said, was a series of events with outside partners the University hosted last year, including the Garth Brooks concert last October, the NHL Winter Classic in January and the Liverpool FC soccer match over the summer. “We started looking at this as early as last year at this time,” Seamon said. “There were a couple of things that invited us to get really serious about it. And we had been keeping our eye on that in through the industry, but we got really serious last fall when we hosted Garth Brooks in October. And then we hosted the Winter Classic with the NHL on Jan. 1. And then when we eventually hosted the Liverpool soccer match in July.” All three outside partners wanted to use magnetometers for their events, Seamon said. see DETECTORS PAGE 5
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Dalloway’s alum recalls working with Sodexo By MAEVE FILBIN Saint Mary’s News Editor
Saint Mary’s Student Government Association announced it will be working on re-opening Clarissa Dalloway’s Coffeehouse sometime in the near future, potentially collaborating with Sodexo, the food service company at the College. As part of the long-standing contractual agreement with the College, Sodexo, formerly Sodexho Alliance, is the sole food provider allowed on campus. “Sodexho is the exclusive food provider for Saint Mary’s College,” the Catering and Food Services Policy from the Saint Mary’s Employee Handbook states. “Sodexho assumes responsibility for feeding students and catering College events. Sodexho also assumes the liability for providing this service.” According to the handbook, “Food may be brought to an
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event by a college employee or student for an internal event … if that event is strictly for College employees and/ or students. Internal clients, external clients and outside caterers will not be permitted to use kitchen facilities in the Clubhouse, CY BER Café, Haggar Center, Stapleton Lounge/Conference Room, Spes Unica, or in the Dining Hall.” During her years as the operations manager at Dalloway’s, Katie W hite (’07) said she and the rest of the student board struggled to maintain a working relationship with Sodexo. “We were constantly battling with Sodexo,” W hite said. “And that was a really difficult relationship to manage because Sodexo would not allow student workers to serve food or coffee.” W hite said this dynamic was introduced when see SODEXO PAGE 4
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