Dear Editor,

I am writing in response to the editorial “UAS Students Demand Title IX Reform,”
published in Whalesong on February 15th, 2024. Although I wrote a brief reply to the editor and to students immediately after the editorial was published, I wanted to follow up with a more detailed letter now that I have attended the February UA Board of Regents meeting and the most recent UAS Title IX Student Listening Session.

First, I am thankful to the staff at Whalesong for the time and care they took in writing the
piece. The editorial exposed the many layers that characterize Title IX. While the adjudication process is complex and bureaucratic, involving the laws of this nation and the policies and procedures of the University of Alaska System, the issues that Title IX aims to resolve are profoundly human and deeply personal in nature.

Students have come forward to recall traumatic experiences that have taken place on
campus. Their stories are harrowing, and I have nothing but respect and appreciation for the bravery of all those who shared their painful memories in an effort to make a difference. I thank them for coming forward with the goal of making our campuses safer, our systems better, and our responses more compassionate.

Second, I want to reiterate that the safety and well-being of students are paramount to
everything that happens at UAS. Though our Title IX Coordinator, Mitzi Anderson, and I are new to the university, we have come to understand the longstanding issues that exist at UAS, and we are committed to improving our processes. We see the advocacy and activism of students as the beginning of a productive dialogue. We have heard you and it has given us the imperative to act immediately in response to your needs. In the last few weeks, we have begun to address many of your concerns:

1. Our Title IX Coordinator has acted on your request that our Title IX training be
   more engaging and effective. She has already begun holding in-person training
   sessions for new students, student employees, and other employees this semester, and
   she plans to expand those sessions to more groups as the year progresses.
   
2. We held a special Listening Session on Housing in response to your desire for
   Housing staff to understand and act more effectively on safety issues. As a result
   of that session, our Housing staff invited students to be involved in reviewing and
   reshaping housing policies and procedures this spring.
   
3. Your recommendation to hold Listening Sessions for staff and faculty is being
   implemented by our Title IX Coordinator, who is working to schedule those sessions
   in the next few weeks.
   
4. To meet students’ needs more effectively with additional Title IX Office staffing, we
   have finalized the hiring of our new Deputy Title IX Coordinator, who will begin
   working in mid-March. Though she will work remotely, she will travel to all of our
   campuses regularly to meet the needs of students and employees.
   
5. To address general safety concerns, our Title IX Coordinator, our Director of
   Risk Services (Ryan Sand), and I met with the new Juneau Chief of Police and
   Deputy Chief of Police to discuss how we can increase the ability of police to respond
   more quickly to emergency situations on campus and build more connections between
   UAS and the Juneau Police Department.
   
6. In response to your concerns, I have also asked our Facilities Team to check all of
   our safety kiosks on the Juneau campus and repair any that are not functioning.
   
7. Our Title IX Coordinator is working with the University of Alaska System
   counsel to review UA policies and definitions and make improvements where
   appropriate.
   
8. We are also reviewing our own Title IX protocols to ensure that they are fair and
   also responsive and compassionate.
   
9. During the Board of Regents meeting in late February, in response to your demand
   that Title IX policies be reformed, I strongly advocated for the UA President and
   the Regents to press for more effective Title IX policies and processes both
   locally and nationally.

We understand that more needs to be done. We are dedicated to keeping your concerns at the forefront of our priorities and want to be accountable to you. Our Title IX Coordinator and our Director of Housing, Sean McCarthy, have been invited to post their progress regularly in a column in Whalesong, and both have expressed strong interest in following through on that invitation.

As the Chancellor of UAS, I hold the highest level of accountability. I am here to make sure
that the appropriate changes are made so that everyone feels safer on all of our campuses. I take this responsibility very seriously, but I cannot do this work alone. I encourage you to stay engaged, voice your opinions, and celebrate our progress. As a strong and vibrant community, we work together and move forward together.

Sincerely,
Dr. Aparna Dileep-Nageswaran Palmer
Chancellor, University of Alaska Southeast