Lydia Glenn

Staff Writer

On November 8, 2021, President Eric J. Barron hosted a virtual Town Hall event to address and attempt to prevent sexual misconduct.

The Town Hall meeting covered the progress made by Penn State, and the ongoing work they are completing to address the problem of sexual harassment and misconduct. President Eric J. Barron said, “sexual assault, misconduct and harassment are national issues, especially on college campuses.” 

Unfortunately, Penn State and its branch campuses are not immune to the ongoing issues of sexual assault. 

President Barron thought it was important to hold this Town Hall to better inform the community on how Penn State is handling the ongoing sexual assault crisis in America and on their campuses. 

Even though this event was geared toward students to better educate and inform them about sexual assault, staff members and the community were also encouraged to join. 

The main goal of the event was to allow students, staff and community members to ask questions prior to the event, during the event and after the event. Questions for President Barron could have ranged from anything to “how to report sexual assault,” to “what is Penn State doing to combat this issue.”

While President Barron was happy to answer any questions, he did have his own questions to ask students and staff. 

President Barron asked the panelists and attendees, “Have we made progress in combating sexual misconduct on our campuses?” While many efforts have been made to counteract and stop sexual misconduct, it persists. So, Barron wanted to pose questions, again for panelists and attendees to voice their thoughts on how Penn State could better improve, if necessary. 

The panelists at the Town Hall meeting included Suzanne Adair – Associate Vice President for Affirmative Action, Tamla Lewis – Associate General Counsel, Danny Shaha – Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs, Nora Van Horn – student in the Schreyer Honors College and member of the Schreyer Gender Equity Coalition and Yvette Wilson – Interim Director of the Gender Equity Center. 

These panelists, in response to Barron’s question, brought to light all the steps Penn State has taken forward since 2015 to better equip its campuses and staff with knowledge about sexual assault and misconduct. 

Since 2015, Barron has appointed a full-time Title 9 Coordinator, improved investigations and the resolutions to those investigations, and created a more accessible way to report sexual misconduct.

Besides improving the way to report sexual misconduct, Penn State has also expanded their educational program on sexual prevention and misconduct. One example that shows their devotion to this issue and the dedication President Barron and many others have is this Town Hall meeting. President Barron, besides expanding the educational program about prevention on a smaller scale, created a space where education about sexual assault, and reporting it, is the main focus. 

The Town Hall allowed for people who wanted to ask questions to feel comfortable enough to put forth those questions. It also educated everyone who attended about sexual misconduct and why it happens and how it can be prevented. 

Alongside all the work President Barron and his colleagues have completed, Penn State now also releases an annual report on sexual misconduct. The report includes statistics from the Penn State college campuses and reports on what locations students reported sexual misconduct, how many students reported in that year and other statistics from court hearings.

 President Barron’s Town Hall event was an integral part in addressing and trying to manage sexual assault and misconduct on Penn State Campuses. President Barron says that they will continue to work towards a safer Penn State by constantly trying to update the ways in which the handle sexual assault.