The Making of 'Title IX at Stony Brook'
About the project and collaborators
It was the last week of classes in May 2014 when Rebecca Anzel, Giselle Barkley and Hanaa’ Tameez were contacted by a female student at Stony Brook University who said she was the victim of a sexual assault. The student, in trying to figure out what her first step should be in reporting the incident, discovered SBU’s process for doing so was a confusing and intricate web of steps and departments. She brought the idea of writing an analytical article about her observation to Anzel, Barkley and Tameez, then news editors at The Statesman.
That article was published on June 29 by Kelly Zegers and Arielle Martinez. It detailed the process at Stony Brook—everything from what the University Police Department handles and does not; how a complaint is filed with the Office for Diversity and Affirmative Action and who that complaint is handled by; and what the punishment is if the accused is found guilty.
That August, a Google alert arrived in the inboxes of Anzel, Barkley, Tameez, Zegers and Martinez announcing Stony Brook University was under investigation for Title IX compliance by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. The investigation was launched due to a complaint filed by another female student.
The five journalists never stopped working on the story. This website is the culmination of a year’s worth of reporting on everything from the continuing investigation to a recent lawsuit filed against Stony Brook.
As part of her senior web presentation course, Anzel built and coded this site; aggregated the information included in the site; created the logo and other text graphics; and reported for and coded the data visualizations. The Statesman has been granted a license to republish this site.
Rebecca Anzel
Rebecca Anzel is a senior majoring in journalism and minoring in Middle Eastern studies at Stony Brook University on Long Island.
Anzel is currently the editor-in-chief and president of Statesman Association, Inc., the oldest media organization based in Stony Brook University. She previously served as news editor, internship coordinator, copy editor and staff writer for The Statesman. Anzel also works as a graphic designer and outreach coordinator for Stony Brook University’s Department of Sustainability & Transportation Operations.
In her sophomore year, she travelled to Turkana, Kenya for two weeks with classmates to report on one of Earth’s last frontiers. The flight from JFK to Lodwar, Kenya was a 32-hour test of endurance for this first-time flier, and the adventure to Africa—doing the work of a foreign correspondent—is one that opened Anzel’s eyes to the possibility of working as a journalist outside the U.S.
In her free time, Anzel reads pieces on Medium, aspiring to write one of her own at some point; experiments with new tea blends or coffee roasts; looks for new quality-made watches; or, as a self-proclaimed journalism nerd, takes classes through the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas. (@rebeccaanzel)
Giselle Barkley
Giselle Barkley is a graduating senior journalism major at Stony Brook with a concentration in broadcast journalism. She has anchored, produced and reported on stories for the School of Journlism’s Newscasts. Barkley also won the Dean of Students Award for her Pink Gloves Boxing and Defying Gravity pieces.
She is the Arts & Entertainment Editor at The Statesman where she wrote profiles and covered events, lawsuits and university policies. She hopes to become a videographer or video editor and continue to report on stories that matter. (@gsllbarkley)
Hanaa’ Tameez
Hanaa’ Tameez is a journalism student Stony Brook University, with a particular interest in photojournalism and new media. She is the news editor at the campus newspaper, The Statesman and has also written for InsideSpanishFootball.com.
As a Pakistani-American growing up on the east coast, Tameez speaks English, Urdu, and Spanish. A love for languages has fueled a continuously growing passion for international news and sports, especially soccer. (@HTameez)
Kelly Zegers
Kelly Zegers is journalism and political science double major at Stony Brook University. She has written for the campus newspaper The Statesman since her freshman year and is a managing editor for the 2015-2016 academic year.
Zegers hopes to one day incorporate her love of journalism and politics as a career, traveling where she can along the way.
Arielle Martinez
Arielle Martinez is a sophomore journalism major in Stony Brook University’s Honors College. She joined The Statesman as a copy editor before covering Undergraduate Student Government senate meetings for the news team. She has also written for Long Island Press, Freeport Leader, Merrick Life, Bellmore Life, and Wantagh-Seaford Citizen. (@AMartinezNews)