The United Student Government (USG) at Fordham Lincoln Center (FLC) unanimously approved the formation of the Committee on Sexual Misconduct (CSM) on Sept. 9th.

The committee’s goal is to create a “safer and more informed student body on sexual misconduct,” according to Djellza Pulatani, the CSM committee chair and Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’24. 

This is not the first attempt at FLC to form a committee focused on issues of sexual harrasment, sexual assault and consent. In previous USG presidential campaigns, candidates discussed the creation of the committee.

“The next administration will make CSM a full-fledged committee once its trial as an ad hoc committee has expired.”Joseph VanGostein, USG president and GSBLC ’22

Joseph VanGostein, USG president and Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center (GSBLC) ’22, said that often in politics “people give up their promises once they are elected.” He attributed the formation of the group this year to “committed and dedicated people.”

Currently, CSM is an ad hoc committee, meaning it is temporary and designed to serve a specific purpose while running for the duration of the 2021-22 academic year. It is written in USG’s constitution that a committee cannot be formally added until the following year. 

“The next administration will make CSM a full-fledged committee once its trial as an ad hoc committee has expired,” VanGostein said.

USG at the Rose Hill campus created a CSM in 2014. Similar to Rose Hill’s committee, any Lincoln Center student may join CSM, though they must become a general member of USG.

The time that Pulatani proposed the committee’s creation to the time of its unanimous approval was only two weeks. The organization of the committee was “the quickest turnaround of any USG initiative” he has seen in his time at Fordham, according to Van Gostein. 

USG’s constitution states that no committee can get to the voting stage without the president’s initial approval. VanGostein said that his approval of CSM was just a formality due to his belief “in the importance of this committee and Djellza’s initiative.” VanGostein said he approved it as soon as he was able to.

“The student government serves as an entity to advocate and express student concerns and we are really making decisions that are whole heartedly based on the students.”Djellza Pulatani, USG sophomore senator

“This is something needed on every campus; it doesn’t matter if you are 10 students or if you are 100,000 students,” Pulatani said.

Pulatani is enthusiastic about heading the committee because of the encouragement she received from other members of USG. She said she did not experience any pushback from peers or faculty when proposing the committee. 

“(Fordham’s) goals for this year are really aligned with what this committee is serving to do and the mission statement of this committee just in terms of social justice and really advocating for their students and their community,” Pulatani said.

In comparison with Campus Assault and Relationship Education, CSM is completely student-led.

There are already events in the works for the rest of the academic year, according to Pulatani. She wants to focus on misconceptions of consent to make sure Fordham community members are educated on the topic and ensure that FLC is “a more safe and informed student body.”

She is looking forward to a “great year filled with events and a lot of educational resources and meetings,” including bringing guest speakers on campus.

In comparison with Campus Assault and Relationship Education, CSM is completely student-led.

“The student government serves as an entity to advocate and express student concerns and we are really making decisions that are whole heartedly based on the students,” Pulatani said. “It is necessary for a student body to be representative of this and be the ones advocating for it because obviously the administrators want us to be safe but we also need to hold each other accountable and try and make the campus more informed.” 

Pulatani believes the committee is going to be part of “the campus’s legacy,” as opposed to her own, and hopes it will last for years to come.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article misstated that VanGostein is an FCLC student; it has been updated to reflect that VanGostein is enrolled in the Gabelli School of Business at Lincoln Center.