Racial equity and the pandemic: How a collegiate football player is tackling both

From zoom workshops that teach people about the misconceptions of COVID 19, to Google docs, to Instagram profiles that shame people who are partying during the pandemic, university students are holding their communities accountable. Across the country a myriad of student-led efforts have sprung up in response to careless behavior by college students. “I just thought it would be a good idea to sort of hold each other accountable and then be safe.”

Confidential points of contact allow victims to reach out about Title IX violations and sexual assault on their own terms. Following multiple incidents involving members of its basketball team, the University of Oregon has reconfigured its approach to Title IX with new policies that give victims control over when an incident is reported. The broader Title IX program defines expectations and sets norms surrounding sexual harassment and consent through educational programs, digital resources, a student hotline, and the designation of individuals as confidential points of contact.

In the aftermath of multiple sexual assault incidents, Baylor University has moved toward turning what was once a culture of avoidance into a culture of accountability. The university has increased the staff, funding, and resources devoted to its Title IX office, including a new website for students to report incidents. Furthermore, the university promotes ongoing education and awareness among both its students and athletes with programs that promote healthy relationships.

New supports are being put into place for the referees of youth sports leagues in order to stop or punish harassment. These include signs, monitors in the stands, and a Facebook page that publicly shames out of control patients.

Utah State University’s Women’s Climb Night is a designated two-and-a-half hours per week when the climbing walls are cleared for women to practice the male-dominated sport with other women. This way, they can spend time in an accessible, non-intimidating, and non-judgmental space.

To promote the need to end intersex surgery, an organization launched a multi-pronged campaign that raised awareness about the potentially damaging impacts of the practice. The group used social media, created a petition, and held protests outside of a local hospital – all of which resulted in the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago issuing an apology and declaring that "they will no longer be performing intersex surgeries unless absolutely medically necessary moving forward." Throughout the world, similar awareness efforts have also garnered positive outcomes.

The restrictions imposed by the coronavirus have turned horseracing in Nebraska into an unexpected boon. City officials allowed racing tracks to be open—with precautions—because the horses' livelihoods depend on the jockeys' livelihoods. The grandstands are empty, masks are worn, and temperatures are taken regularly. People from all over the country are betting on the horses online, providing some income, albeit less money than usual. They are also enjoying the increase interest as a way to educate people on Nebraska's history with horse racing.

A new college athletic policy called the “Tracy Rule” is gaining traction as more colleges are held accountable for the behavior of their student athletes. The Tracy Rule, which has been adopted by 12 NCAA schools so far, requires the self-reporting of pending and closed criminal investigations – including sexual assault. While broad in scope, it’s intended to put more pressure on colleges who have often let Title IX offenses go unnoticed or ignored.

Oregon school districts are looking to Hawaii school districts to learn the best ways to implement athletic trainers into high school athletics programs across the state. Although there are many obstacles to overcome that primarily center on funding strategies, Hawaii provides a model of how to increase safety from the sidelines.

After a high school football player in Oregon was concussed in a game, his condition elevated to a traumatic brain injury when he was sent back in to play without proper rest. To combat this lapse in judgment from happening again, the state passed legislation that "set out guidelines that a coach must follow in the event that he or she suspects a player has received a blow to the head or body and then exhibits signs or symptoms consistent with a concussion."