As President Donald Trump’s first month in office comes to a close, his whirlwind of executive orders targeting diversity initiatives, scientific research, and immigration, among other issues, has caused chaos and confusion at universities across the nation.

Title IX, the federal law that prohibits discrimination by sex and sets guidelines for sexual misconduct reporting and investigation in academic settings, is the latest to face complete upheaval. Despite this, on campus, little will likely change in the way that sexual misconduct reports are handled. 

In April 2024, former President Joe Biden proposed an overhaul of Title IX policies, clarifying gender-based protections for transgender individuals, expanding protections for pregnant and parenting students, and making significant changes to requirements around the sexual harassment reporting process. However, his policies were only in effect for just over five months, from August 2024 to January 2025; Trump-era regulations remained in place throughout the vast majority of Biden’s tenure.

On Jan. 9, 2025, a Kentucky federal judge struck down the Biden administration’s changes. The judge ordered that Title IX regulations revert to the first Trump administration’s set of guidelines, which were issued in 2020. Had the Biden administration not been outgoing, they would have been able to appeal and litigate the decision. However, the Trump administration is not expected to challenge the ruling, and universities across the nation, including Wesleyan, have already reverted or are in the process of reverting to the previous Trump administration’s regulations.

Proponents of Biden’s policies claimed that the administration added important support and protections for victims of sexual misconduct, introducing more stringent requirements that made it difficult for schools to neglect or ignore reports. However, opponents argued that the Trump-era reporting requirements implemented necessary changes to strengthen due process for accused individuals, making it harder for individuals to be falsely accused of sexual misconduct. 

While sweeping changes at the federal level can create confusion and cause rapid turnarounds in compliance guidelines, strong protections for survivors of sexual misconduct remain in place on campus, according to University Title IX Coordinator Debbie Colucci. Even if Title IX protections are diminished, Colucci stated that University policies regarding the sexual misconduct reporting process and the protection of LGBTQ+ students will remain in place. In some cases, particularly in the case of sexual misconduct reporting procedures, University investigatory requirements can be much broader than federal compliance mandates, effectively superseding them. 

“It sounds like a huge change, but really, it’s what we’ve been doing since 2020,” Colucci said.

University officials, including Colucci and President Michael Roth ’78, have continued to emphasize that the University will implement the Trump administration’s new guidelines.

“We have to be compliant,” Colucci said. “We’re not going to risk losing Pell Grants and other funding. We’ll be doing a deep dive into [our policies] to make sure that they align with what we’re being told at the federal level.”

However, Colucci also expressed frustration with the impact of these changes.

“I think that the narrative that’s swirling around is painting a picture that some members of our society are less valuable than others,” Colucci said.

Roth appeared to agree. In an all-campus email sent on Monday, Feb. 17, he expressed his disapproval of the Trump administration’s approach, singling out changes regarding affirmative action, diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and LGBTQ+ policies.

“The new administration in Washington has ‘flooded the zone’ with an extraordinary number of executive orders—many of which affect Wesleyan,” Roth wrote. “We are being forced to end programs aimed at repairing past discrimination. We are no longer allowed to be proactive in trying to increase the diversity of the faculty, for example.”

Roth has been uniquely outspoken among other university presidents in his public criticism of Trump, going as far as to chide his colleagues for their lack of protest.

“Leaders in civil society shouldn’t be ‘demure’ in the face of authoritarian attempts to align all power with a president’s agenda…” Roth wrote in Slate on Feb. 8. “Business and civic officials, religious authorities and college presidents should weigh in when they see the missions of their institutions—not to speak of the health of their country—compromised.”

But it’s unclear, aside from public complaints, if the University’s leadership is taking a different approach to Trump’s new policies and executive orders from other schools.

Title IX Changes at the University

While the language and provisions surrounding Title IX have undergone significant changes, Colucci outlined a complicated relationship between University policies and federal requirements. Title IX essentially acts as a set of baseline conditions that the University must meet. The law does not prevent the University, however, from going above and beyond the requirements.

This can be applied to Title IX’s regulations around gender identity. For example, Trump’s Title IX regulations remove enumerated protections for transgender individuals. Under Biden’s rules, instances of transphobia could have been referred to the Title IX coordinator as possible violations of federal law. Trump removed that requirement. However, expressions of transphobia would be against the University’s code of conduct, meaning that the behavior could still be addressed through a formal, University-run process. 

Roth gave more detail on the school’s policy in the Feb. 17 email, committing to protecting transgender students’ gender identities. 

“Though the federal government has decided to no longer view trans people as a ‘protected class,’ we will continue to defend them on our campus against harassment and intimidation,” Roth wrote. “They are members of our community and deserve our compassionate solidarity—especially when they are faced with nasty scapegoating.”

One of the most relevant changes in Title IX policy concerns the hearing process associated with reports of sexual misconduct. Under Trump’s rules, if a student elects to undergo the full judicial process surrounding a Title IX report, the school must allow for a live hearing in which both the reporting and accused individuals would be present. The hearing would allow the accused individual to essentially cross-examine the reporting individual. Colucci identified this as a factor that could discourage students from undergoing the reporting process but emphasized that the hearing would not occur as a result of every report.

“The thought of having to go to an in-person hearing and be cross-examined around something as personal as sexual violence…is the scary piece,” Colucci said. “It becomes a possible roadblock to reporting. So, when I meet with people, I tell them it doesn’t have to go to a hearing. There are other ways we can brainstorm to resolve it.”

However, Colucci admitted that a hearing is required in certain circumstances, which could dissuade victims of sexual misconduct from going through a full judicial process.

“If you want someone to be held accountable judicially, but the hearing is a scary part, you may change your mind,” Colucci said. 

Another important distinction between the Biden- and Trump-era Title IX policies surrounds the standard of behavior required for the University to take action and the evidentiary standard used in an investigation. Under Biden’s policy, schools must use the “preponderance of evidence” standard in all investigations (with a few exceptions). Trump’s policy, however, allows schools to choose to use the standard of “clear and convincing evidence”—a higher bar than “preponderance” for reporting students to meet in terms of presenting substantive evidence. Additionally, the Trump-era regulations state that the school is only required to act if a student presents a case of “severe and pervasive behavior,” whereas Biden’s regulations mandated that a school act if the behavior was “severe or pervasive.” This change, Colucci noted, could allow one-time instances of sexual misconduct to be ignored by a school. 

“It sounds like you’re splitting hairs when you’re talking about one word, but it makes a huge difference here,” Colucci said, “Because if the behavior is not [severe and pervasive], does that mean we don’t look into it? The answer is no for us.”

Colucci stressed that even if an investigation is not required by federal law, the University can still act under its own Code of Non-Academic Conduct or follow other disciplinary procedures.

“Just because it doesn’t meet the benchmark of a particular federal policy, it may still be against Wesleyan policy,” Colucci said. “Sometimes the most severe situations aren’t pervasive—they just happen one time.”

On-Campus Resources

Associate Director for Sexual Violence Prevention Amanda Carrington, who has worked at the University for three years, agreed that while the federal policy changes are confusing, there will be significant continuity concerning resources available on campus.

“Lack of clarity on changing federal policies might discourage survivors from reporting their experiences of sexual harm,” Carrington wrote in an email to The Argus. “I know that this leaves many feeling worried that their rights and needs will no longer be protected. I want students to know that there are many resources on campus that are here to support you.”

Carrington encouraged students to reach out to her—she is a confidential resource, meaning that she is not required to report disclosures of sexual misconduct to the University Title IX office.

Colucci, who oversees the University’s Title IX office, also emphasized that students can come to her with any questions or concerns about recent changes. 

“This is the bottom line,” Colucci said. “If [you] experience harm in any way, talk to someone. Whether it’s me or someone else, we will help work together as a community to make sure that whoever’s experienced harm has options and resources for support, which may or may not look like reporting under Title IX.”

Director of Health Education September Dibble, who has worked at the University for five years, agreed. She described the breadth of offices on campus dedicated to ensuring that students have access to ample resources.

“The staff at WesWell, OEI [Office for Equity & Inclusion], CAPS [Counseling and Psychological Services], and many more campus offices are committed to fostering a community of care here at Wesleyan and giving students the best possible care, support and resources,” Dibble wrote in an email to The Argus. “Supporting you remains our main priority even as we navigate these new regulations together.”

The Office of Religious and Spiritual Life (ORSL) also serves as a confidential resource for students. In an email to The Argus, Director of Religious and Spiritual Life Rabbi David Teva invited religious and non-religious students alike to reach out to him with any Title IX-related inquiries.

“The chaplains at ORSL have been trained to be confidential resources for students dealing with Title IX issues,” Teva wrote. “Students from any, all, and no religious/spiritual backgrounds can reach out to us for a non-judgmental listening presence and support.”

According to Colucci, the University will continue to evaluate and implement Title IX changes over the coming weeks and months. But she insisted that no matter what changes on the federal level, her mission remains the same.

“I’ve been working in a space of equity and inclusion for a couple decades now,” Colucci concluded. “It’s important to me that every single person within our community and beyond Wesleyan knows that they’re valued.”

Any member of the Wesleyan community who has experienced sexual misconduct, whether in the form of intimate partner violence, non-consensual sexual activity and sexual assault, sexual exploitation, stalking, or sexual harassment, is encouraged to speak with someone. For confidential conversations, please contact the Associate Director of WesWell for Sexual Violence Prevention, Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and/or the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life. Anyone wishing to discuss options and resources for support or report an incident of misconduct is encouraged to contact the Title IX Office or Public Safety.

Miles Pinsof-Berlowitz can be reached at mpinsofberlo@wesleyan.edu.