Q&A with Harvard’s Title IX officer
With the release of the first University-wide Title IX policy and procedures, the Gazette recently sat down with Harvard’s Title IX officer, Mia Karvonides, to discuss the changes and what they mean for the University’s efforts to protect community members and prevent sexual harassment — including sexual violence — related to gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity. GAZETTE: Can you summarize briefly the most important aspects of the new University-wide policy and procedures? KARVONIDES: The first thing to recognize is that, while Harvard is made up of multiple Schools, we are one community at the end of the day. Our responsibility is to protect all students, all faculty, all staff, affiliates, and visitors from discrimination, and from the task at hand, sexual harassment. With that in mind, the new policy looks at the whole array of sexual harassment — from one severe incident like a rape to persistent or pervasive harassment. And...