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BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – The probe into how LSU handled sexual harassment and abuse allegations continues on Saturday.

The Senate Select Committee on Women and Children wants to hear from students.

“We want to hear first-hand the students’ concerns regarding the culture of sexual harassment, sexual violence, and the way reports are handled on campus,” said Sen. Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, who chairs the committee. “We have been appalled by testimony we’ve heard in our hearings at the Capitol concerning the way these young women have been treated.”

The hearing is taking place on on the third floor of the LSU Student Union.

Anyone who wants to attend should make their way to Room 329 prior to the starting time which is 1 p.m.

“We want to make it easier for students to express their concerns without having to travel to the Capitol,” Barrow said. The committee is gathering information and searching for ways to prevent these problems from happening again.

In the midst of the ongoing probe, LSU is providing a Title IX update below:

LSU Community,

As we continue to implement our Title IX action plan and the recommendations made by Husch Blackwell, we want to share several important updates with you.

We understand the importance of having a Title IX coordinator whose sole responsibility is to serve in that capacity on campus, and that’s why we have brought in Daniel Swinton to serve as interim Title IX coordinator.

Dr. Swinton, who serves as vice president of the Association for Title IX Administrators, is a partner in TNG LLC, who frequently consults with universities on Title IX issues, the Violence Against Women Act and sexual violence, alcohol and other drugs, behavioral intervention, bystander intervention, student conduct policies and procedures, hearing board training, mediation, and legal issues in education. Prior to his work with TNG, he served as assistant dean and director of student conduct and academic integrity at Vanderbilt University.

We welcome Dr. Swinton, and we are confident that his expertise in the area of Title IX will be a tremendous help as we transition needed resources to this area. Additionally, we continue to add more staff in the new Office of Civil Rights & Title IX at the center of campus in Himes Hall, which includes our current searches for a case manager, investigator, and assistant to the vice president.

We also understand that having firm policies in place is an important step in addressing some of our past failures outlined in the Husch Blackwell report. To that end, we have revised PM-73: Title IX Policy Prohibiting Sexual Misconduct. The policy revision clearly states that any employee who is required to report instances of power-based trauma and fails to promptly make the report without good cause or, with the intent to harm or deceive, knowingly makes a report that is false, shall be terminated.

We are committed to building trust through our actions, and our work has only just begun. As we implement more changes and take additional actions on Title IX, we will keep you informed every step of the way.

Sincerely,

Tom Galligan, LSU Interim President and Professor of Law

Jane Cassidy, Interim Vice President of Civil Rights & Title IX