In November 2024, Student Government passed a resolution calling for the creation of a dedicated “survivor advocate” position to support students reporting sexual assault, stalking and harassment. Over a year later, Vice President of Student Affairs Gene Fitch told student leaders over email that the position remains on hold because of university-wide budget reductions.
The delay highlights a long-standing disconnect between students advocating for trauma-informed support and administration providing that support, even as the university invests in other high-profile campus initiatives. Students supporting the advocate position’s creation argued it was a crucial, missing piece of campus safety infrastructure.
“There’s no excuse for our university to be lagging behind so far,” Nandita Kumar, senior public policy major and the resolution’s author, said. “Other universities have been so far ahead of us for so many years.”
The case for an advocate: “The process is so confusing”
The push for a survivor advocate, Kumar said, was born from a clear need students had identified. While counseling services exist, students reported a lack of impartial, trauma-informed guidance through the complex procedure of reporting an assault.
“Students need support that isn’t just counseling, but someone who can provide them knowledge of the resources and options they have,” Kumar said. “The process is so confusing at every step.”
The process is so confusing at every step.
— Nandita Kumar, author of the survivor advocate resolution
Kumar described the labyrinth students can face when navigating the differences between a Title IX report and a police report, understanding how to request emergency housing accommodations or accessing a forensic medical exam.
“Most students get re-traumatized and re-victimized through that process,” Kumar said.
The Student Government resolution, SR 2024, reported that UTD had 151 Title IX reports in the 2022-2023 fiscal year and 136 in 2023-2024. It cited national statistics showing college-aged women are at heightened risk and that sexual violence often leads to severe distress. Crucially, it pointed to UT Austin, UT Arlington and UT San Antonio as schools within UTD’s own system that already employ trained, confidential advocates.
“This isn’t reinventing the wheel,” Kumar said. “This is actually a position that even the Texas attorney general has certified.”
Expert advocacy: A “corner” for survivors
The value of such a position is affirmed by local experts. Amy Lawrence, senior director of the Turning Point Rape Crisis Center — which has a long-standing partnership with UTD to provide forensic nurse exams — said the advocate has a critical role.
“It’s invaluable to know that you have somebody in your corner,” Lawrence said. “Someone who believes you, who supports you, who encourages you, but who also is able to do some of that work, an advocate who is non-biased, who has your interests at heart, can give you honest information about what the different opportunities, paths, risks might be.”
It’s invaluable to know that you have somebody in your corner.
— Amy Lawrence, senior director of the Turning Point Rape Crisis Center
Lawrence stressed that sexual violence disproportionately affects youth and that navigating reporting systems alone can be highly stigmatizing and isolating. When asked if a confidential advocate constitutes a basic need for campus safety, she agreed.
“We know that college students tend to experience higher rates of sexual assault, and it can have a devastating impact on the person’s well-being, their academic performance,” Lawrence said. “Having an advocate is really essential for that person’s healing.”
A year of effort
After unanimously passing the resolution, SG presented it to numerous campus offices within the department of Student Affairs, including the Office of Institutional Compliance and the Student Wellness Center. Kumar said SG secured those offices’ support.
The next step, communicated by Student Affairs in December 2024, was the formation of a staff working group to discuss implementation.
“There was just a standstill for a while,” Kumar said. “Despite all our initial support, we didn’t hear anything.”
This fall, as the resolution’s one-year anniversary arrived and went, Kumar followed up directly with Fitch. In an Oct. 29 email, Fitch confirmed the initiative was stalled.
“Unfortunately, when the institution was required to assess a 5.3% budget reduction, we had to place the position on hold,” Fitch wrote in his response to Kumar. “Student Affairs is committed to creating a position as we, too, believe it would add another level of support to students who are experiencing sexual assault/harassment.”
Fitch said that the department would have to wait until early to mid-spring 2026 before they could reevaluate the position. The Retrograde reached out to Fitch for comment. As of publication, no details have been provided.
SG President Giana Abraham reiterated SG’s support, framing the issue as a community obligation.
“Supporting sexual assault survivors is about taking care of the most vulnerable populations of our community,” Abraham said. “Students deserve to feel safe and supported on campus during their most difficult moments. When survivors are supported, our campus is stronger.”
Students deserve to feel safe and supported on campus during their most difficult moments.
— Giana Abraham, Student Government president
Kumar said that she was frustrated by the broad gestures to budget cuts, especially when she saw what the school was spending money on.
“It is absolutely crucial for every single university, especially ours, to have a well thought-out and regularly updated and invested-in sexual assault prevention and response program,” Kumar said. “During college, one in four women will experience some kind of sexual violence or harassment. For such a large demographic, this support should be non-negotiable. There’s no excuse for this to be an afterthought.”
Kumar said that things like the $15 million gaming center or the high-profile athletics advertising campaign in New York City this summer felt like a ridiculously flashy waste of money when the campus had to pinch its purse for key support resources.
“If a student is assaulted or being stalked or being harassed, they cannot show up and do any of their other activities on campus in peace,” Kumar said. “That’s like the bare minimum. This service is a part of basic needs which we are failing to provide.”
A history of unmet promises
The current push echoes a similar, unfulfilled commitment from nine years ago. Kumar said that in 2017, then-President Richard Benson released a public statement announcing the creation of a “Comet Voice Care Team,” a support program for students who submit Title IX reports.
“Since then, it’s been eight years and nothing substantial has been created,” Kumar said. “It’s very clear that this was on the radar of administrators at one point, and it just fell to the back burner.”
UTD’s Student Wellness Center currently offers the Comet Voice Bystander Intervention program that trains students with the skills to recognize potentially harmful situations. Kumar and Lawrence both called this a good first step but insufficient on its own.
“Whatever approach it is, it needs to be tailored to the campus,” Lawrence said, recommending a comprehensive strategy that includes clear advertising of resources, safety planning, peer support and ongoing education to shift campus culture. She cautioned that universities sometimes hesitate to promote services “because they don’t want to give the impression that there is a problem.”
It’s very clear that this was on the radar of administrators at one point, and it just fell to the back burner.
— Nandita Kumar
Kumar said that the data UTD provided on Title IX cases was lacking since it focused almost entirely on faculty and staff incidents.
“There needs to be a better, more comprehensive process of collecting this data and reporting it,” Kumar said.
The Retrograde submitted detailed questions to administration regarding the budget reduction’s specific impact on Student Affairs, the members and findings of the working group and the timeline for implementing the survivor advocate position. The university did not provide a response prior to publication.
With the mid-spring timeline cited by Fitch still months away, Kumar and SG said they will continue to push.
“The burden always falls on the student,” Kumar said. “We’re just ages behind, and it is absolutely crucial that for students to continue to have good experiences, we need to be providing them basic support.”
It is absolutely crucial that for students to continue to have good experiences, we need to be providing them basic support.
— Nandita Kumar