In April, I wrote about the expose into the police handling of the investigation into allegations of sexual assault against quarterback Jameis Winston. In that post, I noted the lack of effort on the part of the university to address the issues, seek accountability, and make efforts at changing the culture and policies at FSU.
In a move that flies in the face of my theory that some schools are making changes to sexual assault policies and procedures for the purpose of PR, FSU announced this week that it would be hiring a Title IX director and two sexual violence coordinators. My surprise is two-fold. One, an announcement from a university in the summer generally gets less notice and two, the hirings are being spun as proactive:
Florida State is not waiting for the federal government to complete an investigation into the university's responses to sexual assaults before it adds additional experts to the staff and adopts a new model for making students aware of their responsibilities for maintaining a safe campus.
They have waited a year and a half, however, after the initial triggering event. Winston allegedly assaulted a former FSU female student in December of 2012. The university is under new leadership which might be part of the impetus. An interim president took over in early April.
Of course, the investigation will likely result in other necessary changes.
