Stephen Lumetta
Contributing Writer
Across the country, sexual assaults at colleges have garnered attention from students, college administrations and the federal government.
Sexual assault has been a core issue at the College in recent years with the founding of student groups such as k(NO)w to combat the rape culture they perceive on campus.
Last week, Campus Council took another step in fighting sexual assault at the College by forming an ad-hoc committee.
Because the committee was recently formed, its members are not sure exactly what direction it will take yet.
Chair of Campus Council Elliot Wainwright ’15 said that the committee will plan and execute a campaign to raise awareness about sexual assault and sexual harassment.
“The campaign will most likely include things such as speakers, workshops, discussions, bystander intervention training and whatever else the committee decides to plan in the days to come,” said Wainwright.
“[An educational campaign] could take a lot of different forms. We could bring in speakers and workshop leaders, different groups: Greek groups, athletic groups … staff, faculty. We could start a Men Saving Men group,” said Center for Diversity and Global Engagement Director and English Professor Nancy Grace.
“In my perfect world, this campaign would have a lot of male students and male staff and male faculty talking to each other and educating each other and creating safe spaces where men of all ages can talk about these things,” Grace continued. “It’s really hard to talk about. And I understand every male feels like he’s singled out, and of course that’s not the case. Most men aren’t perpetrators … And of course you have to have women supporting you as well.”
While the committee will not write policy, it will examine current and future policies to make sure that the College’s expectations are clear.
“I hope there will be some review of College policy to see if students understand the policies,” said Chief of Staff and Secretary of the College Angela Johnston. The ad-hoc committee is also open to working with interested students and groups such as VOX and k(NO)w.
“After the campaign is over, we hope to leave the campus more informed and equipped with the tools, training and knowledge of resources available to them so that the issue is in the forefront of their minds, to prevent instances of harassment from happening in the future, and to allow them to be positive self-agents of change in campus culture,” said Wainwright.