Reporting Your Grievance to ALU

1. If your grievance is between you and someone in a position of power over you (supervisor in work, research, education) then send an email to grievance@aluhawaii.org

2. If your grievance is between you and another GA send an email to alu@aluhawaii.org

3. If your grievance involves gendered or sexual harm, please send an email to genderjustice@aluhawaii.org

What is the Process of reporting?

Before reporting it’s recommended you collect a folder of evidence to support your report. This includes pdfs of emails, recordings of meetings, and notes you made during meetings (or after). This folder should also include a written statement outlining your report and everything involved. A good way to structure this statement is to chronologically (including specific dates) outline the series of events surrounding your complaint. Things you can do to be more specific about this is to look up emails and texts around the dates that events happened. Searching texts and emails for specific names or phrases may also help provide dated context to your statement. At the end of your statement it is helpful to provide a bullet pointed summary of what you are reporting, highlighting specific reportable offenses or incidents.

What kind of Discrimination can I report to Title IX?

If the complaint is due to harassment due to the complainant's gender (including misgendering, deadnaming, discrimination based on sex or gender) then it falls under EP 1204 policy (which is the Title IX policy) and can be handled by the Title IX office.

If the grievance is related to or due to discrimination of any kind this falls under the EP 1202 policy which is not the domain of Title IX.

Finally any sort of abuse that does not fall into these categories can be brought to the Graduate Division chair, especially in the case of abuse by a research advisor. You may also directly contact the office your complaint falls underneath.

If you are unsure about where to report, you can:

1. Confer with the ALU Gender Justice Committee. We can offer you support in the form of Community Accountability protocols grounded in Transformative Justice (see section on Gender Justice).

2. Ask a UH official confidential informant for advice

3. Send your report to Title IX who will hear your case and decide if it appropriately fall under Title IX.

4. Any mix of these

Reporting Your Grievance to Title IX

You will receive a confirmation of receipt of your report and will be followed up with to schedule an intake meeting with the Title IX office. This meeting will have in attendance: the Title IX officer Dr. Dee Uwono (as of December 2022), a Title IX case worker, yourself, and one other person of your choice who may attend (without speaking during the intake) to support you. This one other person may be a friend or loved one you feel comfortable with, or it may be the confidential informant. You will coordinate with these people to schedule your intake.

At any point during the intake meeting you may ask for a break out room (over zoom) or a break that you may take time to talk to or decompress with your support person. The meeting will consist of greetings at the beginning as well as any statement you want to make initially. The Title IX coordinator and the Title IX case worker will begin to ask you questions about the statement you submitted. It is helpful to review your statement and your folder of evidence before this meeting and/or to have it in front of you during the meeting. If your complaint involves multiple events with multiple people you may ask to review just one of these events during the meeting or to review all of them. You will also be asked if you would like to remain anonymous when the report is brought to the professor, advisor, or employee you reported. Keep in mind that anonymity may not be possible if you are interested in a full Title IX investigation or some other accommodations.

At the end of the meeting you will be asked what outcome you would like. Answers to this may range from a full Title IX investigation, someone addressing/having a discussion with the person(s) you are reporting to address their behavior, or asking for protections or accommodations (including changing your office space to a different building in another part of campus or having an intermediary between you and an abusive advisor). 

The Title IX personnel may brainstorm solutions for these requests with you at this time. In this respect it is helpful to have the confidential informant in the room to advocate for you. Solutions may look like the Title IX personnel meeting with your department head to further discuss solutions to your requests or referring you to other offices such as Kokua or Graduate Division. 

Title IX will begin taking action on your case within a week or two depending on availability of your case worker and the various department members associated with your complaint. Or, if your complaint does not fall under Title IX you will be referred (with deadlines) to another campus resource. Your confidential advocate may help you organize your complaint for this next office if necessary.

Have patience, resolution of your complaint will not be quick and it is unlikely you will receive many updates in the meantime. If you need information and you are working with the confidential informant you may contact them to ask if there has been any unofficial news on your case. Otherwise you will likely have to wait for Title IX to process your case and attempt to negotiate the discussed solutions with the relevant people, whether that involves communicating with your department head or other offices.

Getting help before filing a grievance

All complaints can be brought to the UH Mānoa Confidential Advocates who can provide advice and aid in filing a report in a confidential manner. The advocate may also be chosen as your personal advocate and be in the room to support you during meetings. To schedule an appointment, call 808-956-9977.

Mānoa CARES Advocates (Fall 2024):

Jamie Newalu (jnewalu@hawaii.edu): Mānoa Advocate for Title IX, sex- or gender-based discrimination & harassment, sex assault, dating/domestic violence, stalking

Jill Nunokawa (jln@hawaii.edu): Civil Rights Specialist, Title VI and VII discrimination complaints, based on race, sex, gender identity and expression, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, disability, etc.

Haydee Jutz (hajutz@hawaii.edu): General Advocate, graduate student concerns, academic grievances, student conduct, workplace non-violence

University Resources:

• Main Graduate Division page for informal and formal grievance process policies

• Human Resources staff directory by college/office

• Confidential Informant Email: manoaadv@hawaii.edu | Phone number: (808) 956-9499

• Title IX office webpage and UH Mānoa policies (check here to see if your complaint is reportable and to where)

• Title IX Email: t9uhm@hawaii.edu | Phone number: (808) 956-2299

• More information on Title IX formal investigations (this takes many months, involves collecting of evidence, witness reports, hearings, and a trial)