A national search was conducted on behalf of the College and concluded to name Marcus Foster the new Title IX Coordinator. Before he joined the campus community, Foster served at the deputy Title IX Coordinator at Shippensburg University where he oversaw the University’s investigatory process regarding sexual misconduct allegations and led the campus’ preventative education curriculum. He received his bachelor’s degree in politics and international relations from Ursinus College and continued his education at Tulane University Law School.
The Lamron (L): Can you speak to your previous experience and how you feel that that experience will apply to your position here?
Marcus Foster (MF): Prior to coming to Geneseo, I was the deputy Title IX Coordinator at Shippensburg University, a public institution in Southwest Pennsylvania. As Deputy Title IX Coordinator, I was responsible for investigating all matters of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct and discrimination involving faculty, staff and students. I was also the primary prevention specialist that provided education to the campus community on not only identifying sexual misconduct, but looking at issues such as intervention, the role that alcohol and other drugs play and responsible decision making … as well as letting individuals know how to report and what to report. We were a two-person office at Shippensburg, so I worked very closely with the Title IX Coordinator. At Shippensburg, I had a great deal of autonomy and independence when it came to leading my investigations as well as the developing and implementing different prevention initiatives and program opportunities. It's kind of been a natural transition for me into the role of Title IX Coordinator. It has been a professional goal of mine and something that I've dedicated the last five or six years of not only my formal professional career, but also my education as a law student. I aimed not only to become knowledgeable on this subject, but to also apply all of my research from those one on one interactions that I'm having with members of our community.
L: How do you feel that your background in law has prepared you for this position?
MF: I would consider myself an unexpected messenger. If you would have told me that I would be doing the work that I'm doing now, five years ago, I would have laughed. As someone who's played sports their entire life, I hoped to be a sports agent. That was what I was focused on doing. While in law school, there were a number of high-profile cases involving professional athletes as well as collegiate athletes. So much of that narrative focused on men, black men in particular, being part of this systemic problem in regard to sexual misconduct. I got tired of that narrative and realized that I wanted to be a part of the solution. So, I dedicated the remaining two years of my law career, as well as my professional career, to analyzing the role title IX plays not only from a legal perspective, but from a practical perspective. What does the response look like? On the ground level, who are those key individuals who are there to respond? I also took a keen interest in representing victims of abuse, working with victims of abuse and perpetrators of abuse to understand the patterns and trends that maybe exist. I took a lot of time to understand and learn how to be trauma informed and victim centered when you're talking about utilizing language that does not revictimize a person or exclude individuals. My background is one that has been committed to working with those who have experienced trauma, but also being that neutral and impartial listening ear for those who have been accused by allowing them to tell their story as well. I am passionate about advocating for a process that is fundamentally fair and built on mutual respect. I think all of my experiences have prepared me for this opportunity and I'm incredibly happy to be here and grateful.
L: I am sure you have heard about the many Instagram pages created where victims of sexual assault have shared their stories. How do you plan to address this issue?
MF: Let me just start by saying, I am not naive to the issues that face this community prior to stepping foot on this campus. During my interview process, I made sure to do my research and found out about the Instagram page before anyone telling me about it. I spent some time looking at those pages, specifically the share your story pages, and viewing the experiences that individuals have dealt with during their time at this college. I also read an article published in The Lamron that highlighted some of the challenges that this office faced in the past. I understand the issues that are facing the campus and the negative experiences and associations that sound some folks may have with the Title IX Office. My job is to listen. My job is to acknowledge those experiences and give individuals a forum, or an environment if you will, where they can share those experiences to help me better understand how we move forward. I want to work with students. I want to work for students. I want to work with our students. One of the great things that I've been able to do is already start those conversations. Whether that's meeting with our resident assistants, having one-on-one conversations with students, reaching out directly to the Instagram page or giving individuals an opportunity to say, ‘hey, this is who I am,’ I want you to know this is my vision as I move forward here. I want to embrace the mindset of a forward thinker. I want to be someone who is re-imagining how we tackle these issues. There also has to be that acknowledgement of these previous issues to move forward in the best way possible. I want to make this an office that is truly welcoming and here to listen … an office that students can trust. I believe the best way to do that is to avoid the mistakes that may have been made in the past that may have created a false perception of this office.
L: I did work on that article, and you're referring to last semester a good deal. One of the recurring themes that I heard while speaking with victims was a general disregard to ensure that the victim felt safe during the process of working with the Title IX Office. How do you plan to eliminate this stigma?
MF: Yeah. That is at the heart of everything that I'm trying to do. Whether you’ve experienced sexual harassment or you're being accused of committing sexual harassment, you're going to be treated fairly. You're going to have an opportunity to tell your version of events, how you want to tell them, and it is my job to listen. It is my job to reduce barriers that the campus community may feel. One way that I think I can do that is just trying to be as visible and accessible to students as possible outside of the Title IX Office. I want students to be able to see me at a hockey game. I want them to be able to see me at a candlelight vigil for Black Lives Matter. I want them to be able to see the person behind the title to go ahead and just understand that when you come to my office, we're going to have a conversation. I understand the difficulty that comes with this subject matter because the reality is, if you're coming to the Title IX Office, you've either experienced probably the worst thing that's ever happened to you or you're being accused of an incredibly heinous incident. Given all that comes with this subject matter, I want to do all that I can for students to anticipate that they will be respected so that they're able to share their truth. Everything that I can do to create that welcoming environment, to create that inclusive environment, is what I'm focused on doing. Whether that's taking a second look at how we are marketing the office. Even something as simple as the colors on the front door, or what we are posting on our social media page? What are we doing to signal to someone that they may be prejudged?
L: Nationally, there were new regulations published regarding on-campus sexual assault and the state's “Scales of Justice” issues within the department of education. Is there anything you'd like to say about that?
MF: One of the things that needs to be done is education on the new Title IX regulations, and the role that those play with existing New York state law. There are some areas that both the state law and the federal law match, but there are other areas where there are some discrepancies. So, highlighting those key differences, reassuring the campus community that things that may have been left out in the federal regulations can still be enforced under New York state law. It's something that I am focused on educating the campus community on because I know there's a lot of anxiety and concern in regard to the new regulations. Anything I can do to reassure students that this is still a campus community that not only encourages reporting, but also supports members who have or may have experienced sexual harassment, I am very interested in accomplishing. I want students to know that there are still procedures and resources that are available to them, even if it does not rise to what is considered under the new regulations.
L: Are there any initiatives that your office is working on currently to break down these barriers and address previous concerns?
MF: Myself and Carrie Johnson, our prevention coordinator, want to make sure that we are hitting the ground running and that we are doing everything we can to respond to the concerns that we have heard. Like I said, we don't want to pretend that the Instagram page doesn't exist. We are working very closely with athletics as well as the Office of Fraternal Life to set up mandatory workshops for all members. We are very happy to be rolling out our first workshops with athletics starting on this Monday. So, next week, we'll be meeting with each one of the athletic teams. Then during the month of October, we are looking forward to meeting with all Greek organizations to provide them with a comprehensive, one hour workshop where we walk through a case study where we highlight not only problematic behavior, but also addressing how to be an effective bystander. We want to highlight tips on what it means to be an “upstander,” to be that person who is empowered and encouraged to speak up. We also obviously want to reinforce the resources that are available to students. So those are the two big things that we're working on. We're also in the process—after working closely with robbie routenberg and discussing with Denise Battles—of creating a Title IX prevention committee and an advisory committee.