By: Chloe Smith, Julie Herter and Kyla Wetmore
An alleged gang rape of a female student at Cornell University has sparked national outrage,
leading to renewed scrutiny of Title IX programs on college campuses.
The backlash has also been seen at Southern Adventist University, with students expressing
concerns about the Title IX program, particularly some female students who are uncomfortable
with cases being reviewed and decided by a man. A recent incident involving the Title IX
coordinator’s personal Instagram account has also caused a stir online.
What is Title IX?
According to the U.S Department of Education and Southern’s official Title IX policy, Title IX is a
federal law passed in 1972 that prohibits sex discrimination in education programs and
addresses sexual harassment and violence along with other forms of sex-based discrimination.
“[Title IX] addresses gender-based discrimination and sexual violence (whether student to
student, student to employee, or employee to employee),” Southern’s policy states. “Sexual
violence includes attempted or completed rape or sexual assault, as well as sexual harassment,
stalking, voyeurism, exhibitionism, verbal or physical sexuality-based threats or abuse and
intimate partner violence.”
According to Southern’s current Sexual Assault and Title IX Policy, sexual harassment can be
reported by anyone, at any time, to the Title IX coordinator by email, phone, online form, mail or in
person at the Title IX office during business hours.
Southern receives close to 50 Title IX reports a year, according to Dennis Negrón, vice president
of Student Development and Title IX coordinator.
Cornell University
On Sept. 18, The Cornell Daily Sun, a student-run newspaper, released an article regarding a
lawsuit over an alleged gang rape. On October 28, a second article revealed the defendants’
punishments after Cornell’s Title IX procedures determined that two of the seven defendants
sexually assaulted Jane Doe.
“Two defendants were expelled, two defendants were suspended and issued disciplinary
probation, one defendant was issued a persona non grata, and two defendants were issued no-contact orders, ‘educational modules,’ and ‘reflection papers,’” the article stated.
According to Cornell’s Procedures for Resolution of Reports Against Students Under Cornell University Policy 6.4 for Acts of Sexual and Related Misconduct, the university collects
information from respondents and complainants, can conduct hearings using three-person
decision-making panels and decides cases based on whether the action was more likely than not
to have happened—a similar procedure to Southern’s.
“I won’t say that something like what happened at Cornell wouldn’t happen here,” Negrón said,
“but in the history during the time that I’ve been Title IX coordinator, I don’t see that that would
ever happen.”
Negrón recognized the complexities of Title IX cases.
“There’s always going to be somebody that’s not happy,” Negrón said. “Whether it’s the
respondent who’s not happy about being found responsible for violating, or the complainant as a
result of the respondent not being found responsible.”
How Southern Processes Title IX Cases
Negrón discussed in an interview with the Accent how Southern handles reports of sexual
harassment and misconduct under the university’s Title IX policy. He said he helped write the
policy after becoming vice president for Student Development around 2014.
“We had a lawyer look at the policy that I wrote, and they made some recommended changes to
it, and we’ve had a Title IX coordinator since then,” said Negrón.
Negrón said he became Title IX coordinator in 2020, with two coordinators preceding him since
2014.
Southern also has three Title IX deputy coordinators for student-related cases: Joey Tolbert,
Lunelle Bertresse and Renita Moore. Brenda Flores-Lopez serves as a deputy coordinator for
employee-related cases. If the deputy coordinators are notified of a report of sexual harassment,
they report the case to the Title IX coordinator.
Employees of Southern, including student leaders, are required to file a report if they hear an
allegation of sexual harassment or assault, according to Southern’s Sexual Assault and Title IX
Policy. Some leadership roles in the Office of Ministry and Missions, mental health counselors
and on-campus medical providers are considered confidential employees, meaning reports
made to them are not shared with the Title IX coordinator without the complainant’s permission,
according to the sexual assault and Title IX policy.
Tolbert, facilities manager for Student Development, described what happens after someone fills
out a report.
“When you are filling out a report, [it’s] sent in to the Title IX coordinator, which is Dr. Negrón,”
Tolbert said.
Then, Negrón decides which of the four Title IX deputies will complete an intake with the
complainant, according to Tolbert.
Negrón said the deputy contacts both the complainant, the person who says they experienced
the alleged conduct, and the respondent, the person accused of the conduct.
Tolbert explained how she approaches interviews.
“I just listen, and I take the notes, and I tell them I am like Switzerland, like I am not taking a side
on this,” she said.
After the interviews, the reports are sent back to Negrón for review, and he determines whether
the allegations rise to a potential violation of Title IX, Negrón explained in an interview.
“I have four female [deputies], primarily because both men and women tend to be more
comfortable talking to females,” he said. “And 95% of national cases are male-on-female
assaults.”
Negrón explained that if students wish to speak with a male, he will step in.
He said after an investigation is complete, a case may proceed to an informal resolution or a
hearing, based on his evaluation of the case. The option for an informal resolution occurs before it
has been decided if a student has violated Title IX policies.
“Before the hearing, I can tell if it looks like the two parties would like to try to resolve this without
going to a hearing,” he said.
Negrón explained the process of an informal resolution.
“Basically, I sit down with each party separately and say, ‘How do you hope to resolve this
issue?’” Negrón said. “Sometimes I’ll have a complainant say, ‘I would like for this person to just
be suspended for a period of time, and then I’ll be happy, and then just to leave me alone for the
rest of the time that I’m here.’”
If no agreed-upon resolution is reached, the case goes to a hearing.
“In the hearing [conducted] over Zoom, each party has to have an advisor, and that advisor
actually is involved in the cross-examination, so the complainant cannot talk to the respondent,”
Negrón said.
The complainant’s advisor asks the respondent questions, and the respondent’s advisor asks the
complainant questions. Three Southern employees serve as decision-makers on the hearing
panel. Negrón explained how the individuals are chosen.
“There are eight employees who are doing staggered 2-year terms,” he stated. “Every year, four
go off and four come on.”
According to Negrón, all employees are eligible to be decision-makers, with his responsibility
being to appoint a diverse group.
“If a case goes to a hearing, the parties are shown the eight names and asked if they know any of
them [and] in what capacity,” he said. “If there are no conflicts of interest, I choose the three on
the panel based on experience and numbers of cases recently involved in.”
According to the Sexual Assault and Title IX Policy, section 6.4.2, the decision-makers must not
include the Title IX Coordinator or investigator and should be trained and impartial. They
determine whether the actions discussed meet Southern’s standard of proof after listening to the
case and asking questions, according to Negrón.
“In a criminal court, they have to prove things beyond any doubt,” Negrón said. “For us, [the
standard is], did it more likely than not happen, which is the civil court standard of proof.”
According to Negrón, this standard is called the preponderance of the evidence and is used by
most Title IX offices under federal Title IV regulations from 2020, including Cornell University.
“Each office chooses its standard of proof,” he stated. “That choice was not always the case.
Before 2020, all offices had to use preponderance of the evidence. Then, the 2020 federal
government regulations allowed universities to choose.”
According to the 2020 legislation, universities can choose between the preponderance of the
evidence standard and a “clear and convincing standard.” According to Cornell Law School, the
clear and convincing standard is harder to meet. As a result, it could make it more difficult for a
complainant to prove they were harmed.
When asked how it is decided that a violation is more likely to have occurred than not, Negrón
said the investigation determines the decision.
Negrón said once a person is found to have violated Title IX, consequences range from warning to
dismissal. He also added that cases of rape result in dismissal and banning from campus, with no
exceptions. Regulations do not allow for police contact unless a complainant chooses to do so.
“We never take agency away from a complainant,” he said.
According to Negrón, Title IX records are kept separately from other student records and remain
confidential. In addition to documentation considerations, Tolbert described the care the Title IX
office takes with cases.
“We have to follow the steps as close as possible because if we misstep, then… there could be
lawsuits,” Tolbert said.
According to Tolbert, students may request a no-contact order (NCO) at any point in the process,
including while information is still being gathered. With Negrón’s authorization, Tolbert said she
can put the orders in place immediately and coordinate with Campus Safety and professors to
limit contact between students.
Social Media Sparks Concern Regarding Title IX Leadership
On Saturday, Oct. 24, the app Fizz, an anonymous posting platform, flooded with screenshots of
a video repost that was made on what appears to be Negrón’s public Instagram account. The
post featured AI content of a woman lying on a bed dressed in suggestive clothing.
Isabella Dixon, a junior English and communication major, described her surprise when she saw the video.
“I look on Instagram, and I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s borderline AI pornography,’” Dixon said. “There were
posts everywhere on Fizz. I was really shocked to see something like that out on a public
Instagram page.”
When asked last week about the repost, Negrón said that it was not his doing, and he was
unaware of the situation until contacted by students and faculty.
He said although others could see the video, he was unable to see any reposts on the user
interface of his own account. He shared a screenshot with the Accent of his account displaying,
“There are no reposts to show.” When asked why the repost remained on his account even after
it was brought to his attention, Negrón said he planned to show HR how his account appeared on
his end.
“I want to show them, ‘Hey, this is my account [and] you can see that there are no reposts,’” he
said. “’Yes, someone is saying that I’ve reposted these things, but there’s nothing there.’” He said
he would look into the situation once he returned from a recent trip.
“Well, I’m not going to do anything until I get to campus, because I’m not on campus, and I’m
going to talk to HR first before I do anything,” he said.
Negrón said administration had not contacted him regarding the repost on his account. However,
other VPs and concerned individuals have reached out.
“All I know is that over the last couple days, several people, both students and employees, have
reached out to me and said, ‘Your Instagram account must have been hacked,’” he said. “I think
that’s the only way because, first of all, I don’t repost. I hardly use my own account to even
update things that are happening in my personal life.”
Regarding the backlash online, Negrón said he has faced online scrutiny from students on
multiple occasions, and he is accustomed to negative feedback.
“I mean, this is Fizz, where ugly things are being said,” he said. “There have been ugly things that
were said to me on SAU Confessions, other things that have been said to me on [Yik Yak]. I’ve
ignored it. They’ve gone away.”
By Wednesday, three reposts on Negrón’s account were removed, including the post featuring
the AI woman. Only one repost remained on the account, which features dogs jumping over a wall
of plastic eggs.
On Thursday, Ingrid Skantz, vice president of Marketing and University Relations, released the
following statement to the Accent on behalf of the university.
“We are aware of the concerns being expressed by students and understand why questions have
been raised,” she wrote in an email to the Accent. “Southern Adventist University takes these
concerns seriously and is committed to addressing them thoughtfully and through appropriate
university processes.”
Gary Sewell, associate vice president of Information Technology, described ways an online
account can be hacked.
“You can get [hacked] through a phishing email,” said Sewell.
He explained that users can be sent an email, click to verify their account and potentially cause
their account credentials to be sent as part of the phishing email.
According to Sewell, password leakage often leads to accounts being hacked.
“One of the biggest things is it usually comes down to passwords,” he said. “You’ve got to make
sure that number one, you have a multi-factor authentication set up. … Second thing is, make
sure that your passwords are strong and that you’re not reusing passwords across multiple
systems. If one of your passwords were to get leaked, then they’re going to try that password on
every system to see if they can get in with that.”
Dixon offered her opinion regarding Negrón’s account.
“I think that if he got hacked, that’s a bit of a stretch,” she said. “First of all, did he get hacked by a
Southern student or some random person who just happened to be on the web? If they did, why
would they repost one video with objectionable content, and then go on about their day? If there’s
nothing else amiss, why would someone hack into an account just to do that? That doesn’t
entirely make sense to me.”
Cornell University Sparks Conversation
Tolbert said that, on a personal level, cases like Cornell’s can prompt a desire for immediate
action in those who hear about them. However, complainants retain control over many key
decisions in the process, and respecting those choices is important, even when others would
prefer a different response.
“I don’t know all of the information from the Cornell [case],” Tolbert said. “I don’t know what was
said in those rooms, and I don’t know what supportive measures were offered to Jane Doe.
There’s so much that I don’t know, and so people will, especially on social media, jump onto a
bandwagon because everybody wants their version of justice to be met.”
Amelia Canale, a junior nursing major, said the Cornell case sparked anger in her.
“Just realizing more how the system is not in our favor, and that if there’s no rules, I can’t basically
trust anybody, and it’s just me on my own, and I have to be even more worried about my safety,”
she said.
Dixon said it is good that the Cornell case has brought up important conversations, because it has
become normalized to let incidents go. She recalled a personal experience of sexual harassment.
“I didn’t really know what to do with that, and it seemed really scary and intimidating to have to
report that because, well, what if they don’t believe me?” she said. “Then what if there’s some
sort of retaliation? It’s really scary to be a woman who’s trying to stay safe in a situation where
you can file a complaint, but it’s not guaranteed that anything will actually happen.”
Negrón Defends His Reputation
Negrón responded to those questioning his leadership.
“I have a reputation for integrity, and I’ve continued to have that reputation,” he said. “I’ve had a
significant number of students, both complainants and respondents in the past, who have
thanked me afterwards and said, ‘I appreciate the way your office, not just you, but everyone who
works with you handled my case.’ We’ve had respondents say the same thing, that while they
didn’t agree with the results, at least they felt like they were treated fairly. I stand by my integrity.”
Tolbert also spoke about Negrón’s integrity.
“I knew Dr. Negrón as a dean, because I was a student at Southern when he was a dean, and I
have now worked with him as a work colleague and as Title IX coordinator,” Tolbert said. “There
has never been anything that would make me doubt his integrity, [or] his ability to do his job.”
Tolbert also mentioned his approach with students.
“We’ve sat through a lot of meetings with students who are going through really difficult times,”
she said, “and he’s always supportive and kind and prayerful.”
Resources for Students
According to Tolbert, every step of the Title IX process is dictated by the complainant, and they
may choose to stop at any point.
“If a person’s been through a trauma, they’ve already been robbed of their own ability to make a
choice, right?” Tolbert said. “So, what we want to do with Title IX is make sure that they know that
they are making these choices.”
She said students are offered support resources during the initial intake process, including
TalkCampus teletherapy, which is available at no additional cost for students and can be
accessed at any time. Students can also receive help connecting with campus counselors or
seek confidential support from chaplains. Additionally, Title IX can offer assistance with
contacting law enforcement authorities if requested by the complainant.
Negrón shared a message for students who are considering reporting potential Title IX violations.
“I believe that our department has shown that we will take every single case [and] treat it
respectfully,” he said. “Every single person who comes to our office, whether it’s my office or a
deputy’s office, will be treated with respect, and we will believe and verify. Now, oftentimes we
can believe but can’t verify, but we are going to listen to every single report, and we’re going to
believe, and then we are going to work on verifying. My team works hard on that.”
