I’m writing to provide a correction to the cover story written by Ariana Portalatin “Students push for quicker replacement of LGBTQ Coordinator” published on Jan. 30.

Ariana stated in the fifth paragraph, “Some of the initiatives have been put on hold including name change policies, Title IX cases, and the Gender Inclusive Initiative, which covered gender pronouns and gender-neutral bathrooms, according to Hodshire and Dean Strauss, senior design major and president of Common Ground, Columbia’s student organization representing the LGBT community.”

As the new Director of Equity Issues & Title IX Coordinator, I want to assure our students that any Title IX (i.e., student sexual misconduct) cases that were reported prior to and after my arrival have not been affected or “put on hold” due to open positions in other departments. The Office of Equity Issues & Title IX is fully staffed and addressing these reports promptly and effectively.

I can assure you that the former Title IX Coordinator, Dr. Beverly Anderson, and myself, as the new Title IX Coordinator, have not delayed our response time to assist our students in need. In fact, it is my hope that students will report incidents directly to our new Office of Equity Issues & Title IX in the event they need our direct assistance. We are located at 623 S. Wabash Ave., Suite 315.

Thank you for taking the time to make this correction.

Rabia Khan Harvey

Director of Equity Issues & Title IX Coordinator