Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Maryann De Leo and Lifetime Television Vice President Meredith Wagner hosted various events on campus last week as part of the "Cries of Silence: Domestic Violence, Rape, and Mental Illness" program put on by the Nathan Smith Pre-medical Society.
"When filmmaker De Leo came to visit our campus last spring to show [the Oscar-winning film] 'Chernobyl Heart,' the event was extremely popular," NSS member Elizabeth Schwartz '06 said. "We were interested in bringing her back to show three more of her films that we think would generate extreme interest on behalf of the Dartmouth and Upper Valley Community."
On Wednesday, De Leo shared "Rape: Cries from the Heartland," which followed the horrific experiences of seven rape victims, ranging from age 8 to 72. One of the panelists participating in the discussion following the film was Abbey Tassel, a rape survivor and former coordinator of Dartmouth's Sexual Abuse Awareness Program. Another panelist was the Captain Frank Moran of the Hanover Police Department, who said the rates of rape and sexual abuse reported in Hanover are much lower than the rates reported in Lebanon. He attributed this difference to the lower socioeconomic standing of Lebanon.
De Leo also attended a potluck dinner on Wednesday night at Alpha Xi Delta with panel participants and women from the College's seven sororities. The women discussed aspects of the fraternity scene, such as derogatory comments directed toward women in fraternity basements, the prevalence of hooking up rather than dating and "the fact that a senior guy can go out any weekend night with the knowledge that he can hook up with a freshman girl," said Leah Ansell '08, one of the organizers of the dinner.
"De Leo was shocked at the treatment of women on campus and the way women succumbed and accepted this position without question," Ansell said.
Thursday afternoon De Leo presented "Terror at Home," which chronicled the lives of several women attempting to end abusive relationships and was shown on Lifetime as part of the network's Sexual Abuse Awareness Program. Following the film, a panel was held with De Leo and Wagner, as well as Megan Fallon, one of the survivors followed in the documentary.
To wrap up the event, De Leo shared "Bellevue Inside," which looked at day-to-day life in a mental hospital and was followed by a panel discussion lead by De Leo, Donald West of the Department of Psychiatry at the Dartmouth Medical School and Heather Hersh of the DMS Department of Psychology and Brain Sciences.
"Ultimately, it was our hope that this program will stimulate discussion on campus about some pretty important issues," Schwartz said.
To fund this program, the NSS elicited support from the Council on Student Organizations, the Offices of the Provost and President, the Dean of Dartmouth Medical School, the Sexual Abuse Awareness Program, the Department of Film and Television Studies and the Writing Program.
