Q & A: Interim director of OCRIE discusses interest in institutional equity, civil rights
Mary Martinez arrived on Central Michigan University's campus the day after U.S. President Donald Trump was announced president in 2016. Now, the interim director of the Office of Civil Rights and Institutional Equity is utilizing her degrees in social work to guide and maintain the university's nondiscrimination and affirmative action policies and procedures.
In May, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos issued a revised regulation on Title IX, with over 2,000 pages of legislation that had to be implemented within 100 days at college campuses across the country.
Central Michigan Life sat down with Martinez to discuss changes the OCRIE office has experienced over the summer and what changes are to come in the near future.
CM Life: What made you interested in institutional equity and civil rights?
Martinez: "I've always been interested in this type of work my entire life. The work that I do in my professional career has to align with my morals and ethnics in my personal life.
This is so much with that. That is why I am interested in it. I hope to continue in this role and support the president and what he sees for the office as well as in the future.
What has changed under the new Title IX policy about Sexual and Gender-based Misconduct?
The first change people will notice is the title of the policy. It changed from "Sexual Misconduct Policy" to "Sexual and Gender-based Policy." Even though gender-based misconduct was always covered, it was not clear, so we wanted to put that in the title.
We also had to reevaluate the way the university investigates and makes determinations in terms of responsibility moving from a singular investigation model to a hearing model. That is definitely the biggest change.
Will the fact that the election coming up spark a rise in racial complaints on your radar?
It has been on my radar for over a year.
My first day at CMU was the day after the presidential election. That was a difficult first day because there was a lot of emotions on both sides. I am very comfortable knowing the culture at CMU and all the players and components of it.
I can't predict what will happen, but we're here to respond, educate, train, have those open discussions and investigate if necessary.
Have more students reached out during the course of the summer with more complaints and reports?
Yes and no. It is important to note that the OCRIE Office does more than just sexual and gender-based misconduct, so all types of discrimination and harassment. We also serve students, faculty and staff not just the students.
During the summer when students aren't normally around on campus, so we typically see less concerns reported over the summer with COVID-19.
We are still are looking at the numbers. We do evaluate quarterly numbers and a year in retrospect. We are looking for patterns those are not finalized yet, but there will be a significant decrease in matters reported due to the relationship with COVID-19.
Since you've been in the interim position what changes have been implemented?
Historically, the office was led by someone who had a law degree and a law background. My background in social work and student affairs is very different from that.
My approach is to be proactive in terms of training and speaking. I'd much rather put in 100 hours of work doing training and building those relationships on the front end instead of doing that on the backend.
What is some of the training you are trying to implement this year?
I am very excited for the online training offerings that all students are mandated to take. The "Campus Clarity Think About It" training is getting a complete face lift. It is gonna look different and have a different name. It will be more interactive.
We are hoping to launch that later this semester on Oct. 1.
