As part of the College's ongoing effort to address sexual assault, Jennifer Sayre '93 met with Dartmouth faculty to gather feedback regarding the prevalence of sexual assault on campus on Wednesday. The discussion focused on potential strategies for combating such violence, Kristin Baxivanos, interim director for the Sexual Abuse Awareness Program, said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth.
Sayre serves as director of training and development at Green Dot, an organization that promotes individual safety and community responsibility through training and informational sessions, according to the organization's website. Sayre has been contracted by the College to help implement new policies for preventing sexual violence, The Dartmouth previously reported.
Sayre met with members of the faculty in order to "gather information about the College infrastructure and campus climate" and to "explain the research, theory and strategy behind Green Dot," Baxivanos said in the e-mail.
Women's and gender studies department chair Annabel Martin, who attended the discussion, said the meeting's primary focus was to discuss how to approach the issue of sexual assault on campus by treating it as a "community effort."
"Sexual assault is not just something that affects victims, it affects us all," she said.
Sayre also emphasized that the meetings are only preliminary, and that some time will be needed to formulate a "broad-based" plan to deal with sexual abuse on campus.
"Any strategy will need to be tailored to the community," she said. "Expect months, not weeks."
During the forum, faculty discussed the possibility of a "gender and health" concentration offered through the WGST department that would additionally increase education on sexual assault, according to Martin.
Faculty are an important part of this community effort, and professors if properly educated can serve as "sounding boards" for assault victims seeking help, according to Martin.
Sayre said that Green Dot utilizes "bystander mobilization" strategies by increasing education and violence awareness among all members of the community. Faculty can be useful tools as part of a more comprehensive approach to fighting sexual violence, according to Sayre.
Student and Presidential Committee on Sexual Assault co-chair Katie Lindsay '11 said that it is important to include the faculty in the campus discussion on sexual assault.
"We are only going to make progress when every aspect of the Dartmouth community recognizes the issue," she said. "[The faculty] should be able to be a resource."
Baxivanos said that the ultimate goal of the recent efforts is to instigate a shift in the way Dartmouth regards sexual violence, by emphasizing that such violence is unacceptable.
"Saying we care [about preventing violence] is different from saying violence will not be tolerated," she said. "Underlying everything is really taking the campus from we care' to we don't tolerate violence.'"
The meeting was a "starting point," and more meetings will be held in the future to discuss new policies as they are developed, Martin said.
Wednesday's meetings represents an ongoing effort by the College to engage faculty in discussions of sexual assault policy. College President Jim Yong Kim discussed the prevalence of sexual assault and alcohol abuse at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences general meeting in October a meeting traditionally used to discuss academic matters, The Dartmouth previously reported.
Faculty interviewed at the time responded positively to the discussion of student life. Government department chair John Carey said in a previous interview with The Dartmouth that he thought it was important for faculty to act as resources for students affected by sexual assault.
"It's good for faculty to know where students can find resources," he said, adding that professors can be useful even from a "bystander position."
