By Mackenzie Grizzard | Staff Writer
When you think Title IX at Baylor, most are immediately transported back to 2016, where a sexual assault scandal rocked a football team up to the office of the president.
The blatant mishandling of sexual misconduct and Title IX complaints during that time is a whole issue itself. But too often, we forget the catalysts behind it all — the brave women that spoke up against an institution with endless resources.
This is about them. Title IX is about uplifting the voices of wronged women, but far too often, we see the women themselves forgotten and discredited.
2016 wasn’t the only year in Baylor’s history that the university made some questionable decisions regarding sexual harassment claims. The first whispered warning came just two years prior in 2014, when Baylor was found negligent in Dolores Lozano’s lawsuit, which claimed the university did not adequately respond to her multiple claims of physical assaults perpetrated by a then Baylor football player.
Rewind a hundred years or so — Antônia Teixeira met a similar fate at the hands of a young Baylor administration, that silenced and discredited the sexual assault she endured in the President’s own backyard.
She wasn’t referred to as Antônia, or even Ms. Teixeira in several of the court documents — just as “that Brazilian girl.”
But I’m sure both of these names probably don’t ring a bell. Art Briles and Ken Starr might sound a little more familiar.
Bravery is a subjective term at times. Our Navy SEALS are brave in their measures to defend their country, and I’m a brave college girl for attending the one class I have on Fridays.
But many of us can’t imagine the bravery it takes to fight for justice against powerful people, universities and even entire governments. Standing alone is scary enough, but standing alone against your perpetrator and their entire institution is truly terrifying.
This isn’t meant to disparage Baylor’s administration and Title IX efforts because much of it has changed and developed for the better.
There were 15 women who spoke out against Baylor football in the 2016 scandal. I guarantee most of you reading this could not name one of them. That’s the point I’m trying to make.
Because that’s just how it goes; most can’t name the 87 women that were victimized by Harvey Weinstein, or the 18 that accused President Trump.
Women are the common denominators in sexual misconduct cases like these. From Hollywood to government and even to Baylor, women become more than victims of a grotesque crime — they become symbols of strength. Their names matter infinitely more than their perpetrators’ do.
There’s nothing quite like seeing women band together over a shared experience. Globally, 1 in 3 women have experienced sexual violence in their lives according to the World Health Organization. Bet you can’t name those names either.
Obviously, memorizing millions of names isn’t realistic. But I encourage you to remember why Title IX exists in the first place. It exists for women like Antônia Teixeira, Dolores Lozano and all the other strong women who fell through the cracks of their universities. They are the heart of Baylor’s female majority and should be remembered as such.
