The Office of the Provost is launching a new student advisory board to address sexual misconduct and assess current University resources. The Provost's office, which is currently accepting applications, plans to recruit 12–15 students and seeks representation from across the undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools. Applications are due Friday, October 28.

Associate Provost & Director of the Office for Equal Opportunity Programs and Title IX Coordinator Sarah Wake, wrote in an email to The Maroon that the advisory board has been in development since last year.

"I created the idea for the Title IX Advisory Council Board last year after meeting with students and student groups (including the Phoenix Survivors Alliance) because I felt that there was an opportunity to develop a vital and meaningful connection between the student body and my office," Wake wrote.

Shea Wolfe, whom Wake appointed as deputy Title IX coordinator for students this past summer, will chair and manage the board.

The goals of the council include assessing the efficacy of current campus resources, informing the campus community of those resources via social media and other forms of communication, receiving student feedback and suggestions on current and future sexual misconduct trainings, and fielding concerns about University policies.

“[Wolfe] and I are especially interested in receiving recommendations regarding how to continue to increase student knowledge of and confidence in the University’s processes and resources and receiving student feedback regarding increasing reporting from students of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and international students,” Wake wrote

The Maroon reached out to The Phoenix Survivor’s Alliance, a student organization focused on support and advocacy for survivors of sexual violence, for a reaction to the Advisory Council.

“In our view, the advisory council is a great replacement for financial commitment (as in hiring more staff) from the Provost's office, and we hope students are able to contribute in a concrete, meaningful way to ending rape culture on campus,” Phoenix Survivors Alliance Co-President Simone Brandford-Altsher wrote in a statement to The Maroon.