Subtlety was not in play last week when the student body yelled clear and loud their anger about the treatment of sexual assault on campus. This small-scale campus movement started when an alert was sent out to all students’ emails regarding an assault that had taken place on Oct. 12. This sent many students into a panic and sparked a level of outrage that the campus had not yet seen yet this year. This was the beginning of a week of anger-fueled advocacy for change. For those who were not able to attend the events, the Take Back the Night event and the student-led forum had the largest attendance and demonstrated the strength that the student body has when we come together.
Now, St. Lawrence students are asking themselves what to do next. The protests have ended and with that, the hazy glow of anger that entrapped the campus last week is slowly starting to dissipate. At the forum, the student body demanded from the lineup of administration members not only basic security and safety, but also a reform of the title IX administration. A list was given by one of the attendees of the forum of what the audience had asked for that night, that had realistic goals. They said the students wanted an available list of campus offenses online, a change in the policy of simply moving offenders to different dorms, the consideration of a way to enable students to know the identities of known offenders, having an established title IX committee with one main coordinator whose sole job description is to oversee Title IX on campus, and to have rape kits available at the student health center 24/7. The last thing that was asked for at the forum was for an email to be sent to the entire student body summarizing the forum and what was asked of the administration. This was viewed as necessary to be able to hold the administration accountable for their promises not being delivered on. This email was obviously not sent, and with that, the hope of immediate change is gone.
One assault survivor on campus, who wishes to stay anonymous, states that the week after has been “really hard and bringing up a lot of trauma…but at the same time empowering. Having to relive the trauma has been really difficult but being able to reclaim what happened to me along with other survivors has been empowering.” She feels that the lack of movement within the administration has been extremely disappointing, which is a sentiment shared by many.
Another anonymous survivor feels that what has been done is “not sufficient” and that “it is truly angering that we have to endure this amount of fear on a daily basis with the higher-ups not making it clear that they are even trying to give us peace of mind.”
Vice President and Dean of student life, Hagi Bradley, agreed to answer a few questions regarding the week after. When asked what was accomplished by the protest and what action will be taken as a result, the Dean answered with the following statements: first by quoting President Morris, saying that sexual assault is unacceptable on the campus (this we already knew), he then told me that a position for a dedicated title XI coordinator had been posted and a committee on sexual health and wellness is “coming.” When asked what the protests looked like from the standpoint of the administration, he stated that, “The protests were a great opportunity for students’ voices to be heard and for students to be able to openly say the things on their minds. It is the students’ right to be able to do this.” He then finished off the questions by reassuring me that “we do care about students.”
St. Lawrence students are now left to decide if the administration has accomplished enough to truly prove that they do care or if this is just an empty sentiment. There is movement with the title IX placement and hope for a strong committee. Regardless of the lack of communication by the administration to the students of St. Lawrence, the students are holding out hope that their demands will be met in a timely manner or at least addressed in a timely manner.