Cassie Lathrope | clathrope@mail.smcvt.edu | Executive Editor
*Some names have been changed to protect the privacy and safety of the individuals sharing their experiences.
Alice*, ’27, opened a Title IX complaint with Catherine Welch, St. Michael’s College Title IX coordinator, after an alleged sexual assault in late February of her freshman year of college.
Five months later, after a series of back-and-forth emails, conversations, phone calls, and interviews with Welch, Jeff Fontaine, the Public Safety lead investigator at St. Michael’s College, and the hired outside investigator, Alice learned the man she’d accused would not be attending St. Michael’s College for the upcoming fall semester.
“I found out he was withdrawing at the end of July and it was formally confirmed on August 1st,” said Alice. “To me, withdrawing isn’t a resolution, it’s just him running away from the problem.”
Alice said because the respondent did not return to St. Michael’s College the investigation was closed and would only be reopened if he returned to campus.
As the Title IX Coordinator at St. Michael’s College, Welch is the point of contact for students who wish to file a report on campus, and the person who oversees investigations.
Title IX, signed into law in 1972 by President Richard Nixon, is “a federal law protecting individuals from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance,” as per the St. Michael’s College website.
According to the website, the Clery Act and the Violence Against Women Act further uphold Title IX to protect against sexual harassment, sexual assault, dating & domestic violence, stalking, sexual exploitation, and retaliation.
During a Title IX complaint, the Title IX coordinator is required to remain impartial to both the complainant, the person filing Title IX, and the respondent, the person the Title IX is being filed against.
“I can’t act as an advocate, and I can’t show up in the way that a mental health clinician or an advocate might show up in support of students,” said Welch. “And I try to be really clear with students that that’s not my role and that we can help them seek that type of support in another area.”
Alice and Sue*, two St. Michael’s College students who filed Title IX complaints, expressed frustration and said they felt they weren’t emotionally supported by the school while going through the process.
“I think it’s frustrating because while I understand the school has to be fair in the decision-making process, you are not treated as a victim in the slightest,” said Sue, ’27, who opened a Title IX complaint in September after an alleged sexual assault during the spring semester of 2024.
“Throughout the whole thing, everyone preaches that they have to stay neutral, but I don’t think anyone understands how harmful that can be.
“The fact that it took seven months to feel brave enough to come forward, just for not a single person to be able to look at you and say, I’m sorry this happened to you. They have to say, I’m sorry you had an experience that made you feel this way….No one can validate what you’ve been through.”
Alice said Welch and the investigators constantly reminded her they were required to be a neutral party.
“Sometimes in the investigation, it felt like I was doing something wrong for bringing up this issue,” Alice said.
Her grades took a hit, with her GPA dropping 0.6 points. “I skipped a lot more classes than I ever have before,” said Alice. “I withdrew a lot from my friends because I just felt uncomfortable going into Alliot for the chance that he would be there.
“And I really just spent a lot of time in my room by myself, away from people.”
Alice was given counseling at Bergeron Wellness Center for about a month but stopped when she was told she no longer needed to attend sessions.
Kathy Butts, director of counseling at Bergeron Wellness Center, explained there is usually an eight-session mental health counseling limit per student, per semester. However, exceptions can be made for students in specific cases.
“If there’s a student who has been through a sexual assault or any other kind of trauma and they can’t readily get services off campus, then we will definitely help them get connected,” said Butts.
Welch said at one point the school was working with Hope Works, an organization in Burlington focused on empowerment and standing against sexual violence.
She explained the organization formally held open hours for students in the Center for Women and Gender but that ended due to a lack of use. Since then, the school has not dedicated other resources.
When a student files a Title IX complaint through Welch, they have the option to select an informal or formal resolution.
Welch described the informal process as a restorative justice process, seeking to repair the harm that was caused. This process requires the respondent to take accountability for their actions and both parties must agree on steps forward.
A student can file a formal process if both parties cannot come to an agreement. In this case, an investigation will be held, followed by a hearing in which the respondent may be suspended or dismissed from the college, Welch said.
If the respondent is not found responsible, the no contact will remain in place but the student will not receive any kind of punishment, Alice said.
Alice said when she filed Title IX in spring 2024, she intended to proceed with an informal resolution but was required to switch to a formal one after the respondent did not agree to an informal resolution.
Alice said this was a lengthy process involving a number of steps that left her deeply unhappy.
Fontaine said the average Title IX complaint can take anywhere from 2-4 months to come to a resolution, with fast complaints being on the two-month side.
Six months after filing Title IX, Alice’s complaint was eventually closed when the respondent withdrew from school.
“When I do think about this case that there was no resolution and no, like, formal closure, it was …kind of left inconclusive, and I never got anything from the school other than he’s trespassed, not allowed to be on campus and that kind of sucked,” said Alice. “I just wish it was more efficient, and that it seemed like people cared a little bit more.”
Sue said, “It took about a month for my interview to happen with the investigators after filing a complaint, it took almost an entire week for the no-contact order to be put into place.
“I told Catherine I was afraid and I didn’t feel safe and her response was to call public safety if anything happens in the meantime.”
But, said Welch, “As soon as a formal complaint is filed, I’m contacting that respondent within like a day or two, and that no contact is issued to both parties at that time.”
According to Fontaine, once a formal investigation is opened he reaches out to witnesses and contacts from both parties to set up interviews with the outside investigator hired by the school. The outside investigator leads the investigations and collects all evidence.
Fontaine said the reason these complaints can take so long to resolve is that many of these interviews are scheduled around student availability and responses.
He often had to send out multiple emails before receiving a response. “Inherently you’re ending up with maybe a dozen other parties, yeah, and you’re just scheduling those.”
As of Aug. 1, 2024, the Title IX policy was updated to include sex-based discrimination and sex-based harassment, Welch said.
After these modifications were made, college employees were required to participate in online training to update them on Title IX procedures and policies.
Welch said Bridget Akins, the wellness coordinator, has created programs to inform varsity athletes at St. Michael’s College. “Bridget Atkins just created that program, and that’s like workshops with every athletic team around consent and healthy relationships, right, bystander intervention, that sort of stuff.”
Butts said Bergeron Wellness Center has tried to set up prevention and outreach efforts on campus in the past but never received significant student attendance. However, coaches of athletic teams on campus can make these sessions mandatory.
Fontaine and Welch agree that the school needs to do more to offer these trainings and panel discussions to all students.
“I can certainly lead educational conversations and training about the ins and outs of the policy, but I am not the institutional contact person for prevention education initiatives,” said Welch.
Alice said she was unfamiliar with details of the Title IX policies at St. Michael’s College until an incident happened to her.
“It was all new territory,” Alice said. “I mean they have the posters and stuff, obviously, of like, what to do, and after it happened, I kind of read those. And before filing, I looked at the website and, read through everything on the website… but it was mainly new to me.”