The Advocates Executive Board would like to welcome everyone back to campus. As we begin the semester, I would personally like to share the importance of our organization. At the end of this article, I will also provide important information regarding current campus concerns.
The Advocates offer a confidential peer support system for survivors and witnesses of sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking. Our main service to campus is the 24/7 hotline. During both the fall and spring semesters, excluding breaks, our phone is on and accessible for all students. We can help survivors by connecting them to Title IX, Safety and Security, the health center, or off-campus resources.
If you would like to engage with our community, which I find very supportive, we offer trainings, themed weeks, and meetings focused on topics related to consent and relationships. Our meetings are typically held on Tuesdays in the Hannon Room at 6 p.m. You can follow us on Instagram @sluadvocates for updates and details.
This year, we invite you to participate in Purple Week, a week to support survivors of domestic violence. It will take place during the week of Oct. 20 and will lead us into our semesterly training on Saturday, Oct. 25. The training is a requirement to hold the phone.
The Advocates are unique to St. Lawrence. There are few, if any, college campuses that offer student-run hotlines like ours. Our organization is more important than ever, especially as nationally funded hotlines lose funding and are being shut down. Please, when you are able, help us create a more survivor supportive campus by educating yourself and others.
A note on campus concerns The Advocates are aware of: there has been a recent increase in drugging on campus. As an organization, The Advocates are concerned with this recent rise in drugging, which has not only included drink spiking, but also the tampering with vape and dab pens. We recognize these situations might not be easily identifiable, as they are a newer method of drugging recently seen on college campuses. We want to express our solidarity with those who have been drugged, while also spreading awareness to try and keep each other safe for our last month together.
If you know of someone who is committing these violations and feels comfortable sharing names, please reach out to Dean Jodi Canfield at (315) 229-5551229-5551 or Safety and Security Chief Pat Gagnon at (315) 229-56095609. We would like to reiterate that any form of knowingly drugging another person is against the Student Handbook and State Law. By engaging in this activity, you are putting others at serious risk of harm, and drugging others is in no way a funny joke or prank.
Another piece of information that we feel is important to share is regarding the Title IX reporting principles. If you or your friend is drugged and assaulted, and you suspect it’s by the same person, and you reach out to Lindsey Tropper, the Title IX Coordinator, she will likely have to open an investigation. This investigation does not need to involve you or your friend if that’s your wish; however, the investigation is required to keep our campus community safer and hold perpetrators responsible for their actions.
If you or someone you know has been drugged or assaulted, please know The Advocates are a resource you can use. There are many other organizations on/off campus you can also turn to for support; we have listed them below. Please know you are not alone in getting help or through the healing process.
You can call us at 315-244-5466, find us at @sluadvocates on Instagram, or during ofon office hours in Richardson 06 fice on Monday and Wednesday from 4:30–6:30 p.m.
Let’s work together to make this campus safer, more inclusive, and more supportive of all survivors.
Resources
On-Campus Confidential
- The Advocates 315-244-5466; www.stlawu.edu/advocates
- Chaplain’s Office,
- Shaun Whitehead 315-229-5062
- Health and Counseling Center 315-229-5392
- Director of Wellness Education Laura Lavoie 315-229-5757
International Student Services Staff
- Tsewang Lama, Director of International Student Services 315-229-5552
- Megan Putney, Assistant Director of International StuDirector Student Services 315-229-5141 dent
Off-Campus Confidential
- Canton-Potsdam Hospital 315-265-3300
- Renewal House
3 Chapel Street
M-F 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.