Pictured Above: Because he was placed on “disciplinary probation” following a Title IX investigation, Isaiah Castle says, SG’s “archaic rules” are forcing him to step down.
Courtesy of Isaiah Castle
By Sophie Ojdanic
Isaiah Castle, who has worked under the cloud of a Title IX investigation for 10 months, will resign as lieutenant governor of St. Petersburg’s Student Government effective March 18.
In a letter to the student body in today’s Crow’s Nest, Castle said he “was found not responsible for all of the most serious accusations made against me.”
But because the University Conduct Board concluded that he had committed what he called a “minor” offense, Castle said, “one of the sanctions that were … placed against me was disciplinary probation.”
The SG constitution says a student who is “under disciplinary probation cannot hold an elected position,” he said, so “SG leadership” informed him that he had to resign by March 18.
“As disappointed as I am that this situation is happening, I’m more frustrated with SG allowing archaic rules like these to exist. These rules keep students who love this university (shortcomings and all) and want to make it better from being a part of an organization that can do just that,” Castle said.
He also said that “rules like the one that is forcing me to resign disproportionately affect minority students, who are statistically more likely to receive harsher consequences than non-minority students for the same violations.”
The rules are spelled out in the USF Student Code of Conduct, which says that a student who is on “conduct probation” may lose “privileges and/or activities” like participation in study abroad programs and serving in student leadership roles like resident assistant and SG jobs.
Castle, a senior political science major, became St. Petersburg’s first lieutenant governor under the newly consolidated Student Government when he was elected as Andrea Campos’ running mate in March 2020.
Just two months later, he confirmed that he was being investigated under Title IX, the 1972 federal civil rights law that prohibits sexual discrimination, including harassment and violence, in colleges and universities.
He said then that he was “fully cooperating with investigators” and predicted he would be cleared of wrongdoing.
Castle’s resignation comes three weeks after Gustavo Spangher, a Tampa student who is vice president of USF’s system-wide Student Government, abandoned his candidacy for president amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
The misconduct allegations against Spangher first surfaced in late June, when dozens of women took to Twitter to describe a culture of sexual misconduct at fraternities on the Tampa campus.
There were two allegations that accused Spangher of “predatory behavior” at fraternity parties.
Scrutiny of Spangher’s behavior increased after he announced his candidacy for president. His former girlfriend released a statement that called him a “misogynist … (who) clings to dangerous stereotypes that he uses to feel morally superior and uphold rape culture.”
Misconduct in SG
The Castle case is at least the third time in recent years that allegations of sexual misconduct have affected Student Government in St. Petersburg.
In May 2017, SG’s vice-president elect, Samuel Goetz, was expelled after the university determined he sexually assaulted a female student in his dorm room in September 2016.
Goetz fought the expulsion in Pinellas County Circuit Court, although he asserted in court documents that he did not want to return to the university.
Three judges eventually ruled that his rights of due process were denied by both the University Conduct Board and Dean of Students Jacob Diaz, and the expulsion was cleared from his record.
The university agreed to change Goetz’s record to show that he had been suspended, effective December 2017, with what the university calls “an ongoing restriction from access to the University” thereafter.
In August 2016, SG President Ziya Kardas and Vice President Gina Rotunno took leaves of absence and then resigned six months later.
The departures, which were never explained, apparently came after a dispute between Kardas and Rotunno that involved allegations of harassment.
The university “thoroughly investigated the harassment allegations and I was completely cleared,” Kardas told The Crow’s Nest in an email in February 2017.
He declined to offer further explanation.
Code of Conduct
Under the USF Student Code of Conduct, students who are charged with violations can elect to go through a disciplinary hearing process before the University Conduct Board, which is made up of students, faculty and staff who have gone through special training.
If the board concludes there was a violation, it then determines what sanctions will be imposed. The sanctions range from expulsion and suspension to less severe penalties like probation, a written reprimand, mandatory seminars or workshops, and no-contact orders.
This is how the Student Code of Conduct describes “conduct probation,” the sanction that Castle says was imposed on him:
“A specified period of time when the charged student or student organization is considered not in good conduct standing with the University. Conduct probation may result in restrictions of privileges and/or activities which may include, but are not limited to, being prohibited from participating in study abroad (and) serving in specific student leadership roles (e.g. resident assistant, student government).”
Under federal law and university policy, Title IX violations are shrouded in secrecy. The woman – or women – who filed a complaint against Castle has not been identified and did not file a criminal complaint against him with university police or St. Petersburg police.
Castle has declined to describe the allegations that led to the complaint “out of respect for the privacy of everyone involved.”
In his letter to the student body, he said he will be “forever grateful for the opportunity” to serve as lieutenant governor.
“I hate that it turned out this way, but if you asked me if I would do it again knowing how it would end, I would sign up in a heartbeat,” he said.
In response to questions from The Crow’s Nest, Castle said he believes his most significant contributions to Student Government came last summer amid “the reckoning around social justice and police brutality.”
It was “incredibly important” for SG to “emphatically state where we stood on the matter and what we believed in,” he said.
“The notion of being too one-sided crossed everyone’s mind at some point, but I constantly pushed the notion that there was no grey area to hide out in. There’s an unjust side and a just side, and we needed to make it loud and clear which side SG stood on.”
Castle, who plans to graduate next fall, has said he hopes to attend law school.
Asked if he fears that his disciplinary probation will hurt his chances for admission, he said, “That’s for any admissions office to determine. I can only control what I can control. I would hope that they would consider my application in its entirety, and if they were interested in this situation, that they would provide me the chance to explain it to them in detail.”
Gov. Campos did not respond to questions from The Crow’s Nest. It has not been announced whether a new lieutenant governor will be appointed to replace Castle.
The Crow’s Nest asked Diaz, the dean of students in St. Petersburg, why Title IX investigations like Castle’s case take so long. The paper also asked him to comment on the frequency of Title IX cases involving male students in SG and on Castle’s assertion that university rules disproportionately affect minority students.
Here is the response from USF St. Petersburg campus spokesperson Carrie O’Brion:
“Promoting the safety and well-being of our USF St. Petersburg campus community is our top priority and a responsibility we all share. We take allegations of Title IX violations very seriously and give each complaint a thorough and fair review, a process that takes time.
“In keeping with President (Steve) Currall’s Principles of Community, we are committed to treating all students equitably and constantly review our internal processes to see where we are succeeding and identify opportunities for improvement.”
A hot-button issue
The enforcement of Title IX regulations on America’s college campuses has become a hot-button issue in Washington over the last decade.
Under then-President Barack Obama, the U.S. Department of Education issued guidelines to colleges and universities that critics said leaned too heavily toward accusers and gave too little due process protections to students and faculty accused of sexual misconduct.
The administration of Donald Trump rewrote the guidelines, which many said gave the accused too much power.
Trump also disbanded an office specifically focused on women’s issues that was created by Obama.
Last week, President Joe Biden served notice that his administration intends to revisit – and revise – Trump’s policies.
Biden, who focused on gender equity during his campaign, directed the Education Department to review the Trump rules and signed an executive order that essentially reinstates the office on women’s issues, which now will be called the White House Gender Policy Council.
Information from The New York Times and the Associated Press was used in this report.
