By Lena LaJoy
On April 28 from 1 to 4 p.m., students could be seen visiting two booths stationed at the back of the food court of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union, where members of the Office of Civil Rights and Sexual Misconduct were giving out baked goods and wellness bags.
Angela Nastase, the director of the OCRSM and Title IX and Title VI coordinator at the University of Maryland, said the event is held annually. However, this year it was changed from “Tea with Title IX” to “Treats with Title IX” to draw in a bigger group of students.
She said the event is hosted around the same time every year because April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Nastase said that Treats with Title IX is one of many different events that the OCRSM is hosting this month.
Nastase said the event aims to educate students and employees about the program, and allows those on campus to know what resources they have access to.
“We want to make sure that students and employees know that our office is a resource on campus and we provide supportive measures or referrals to on-campus or off-campus resources if they need support,” Nastase said.
Karina Escobar, the program manager for policy and prevention training in the OCRSM organization, said that on top of the yearly event held in the student union, the office offers training sessions for departments and colleges.
Escobar said she personally oversees the training program. She said that the training differs depending on the needs of the person asking, and in order to request training, someone simply fills out a form on their website telling her what they need help with.
She said one group she works with often is professors who teach UNIV100 classes. She said she goes into classrooms and teaches students about relationships, consent, communication and how to set boundaries.
“Those are really important for a student coming into the university, especially because it might be their first time away for college, and also letting them be aware of what our office does and who we are is very important,” Escobar said.
Nastase said that the organization often works with One Love Foundation, UMD Athletics, fraternities, sororities, student government and new student orientation.
“We do a lot of tabling for them, just letting future students, as well as their parents and guardians, know that our office exists and the efforts that we’re doing here,” Nastase said.
Escobar said that much additional information can be found on their website. Specifically, the Annual Student Sexual Misconduct Report for the 2024-25 year was recently released, and it reports on campus incidents.
This report lists instances of sexual harassment and different trainings that were completed. It reported that there were 69 instances of sexual harassment reported to the office in the year.
The statistics also show how the program was successful in the year the data was compiled from.
According to the report, “346 supportive measures were provided by OCRSM to both Complainants and Respondents and 278 referrals to counseling or health services were made by OCRSM for Parties involved.”
The report shows that there is a slight increase in the number of reports being made. However, the report notes that this is most likely due to increased awareness.
Nastase emphasized the importance of the program, and she said she hopes students connect with the program so they know they have a safe space to report any issues that come up.
Featured Image: Two booths at the back of the food court of the Adele H. Stamp Student Union, where Office of Civil Rights and Sexual Misconduct members gave out wellness bags. Photo by Lena LaJoy.