Correction appended
When one female Dartmouth student shared an anonymous narrative about sexual assault on Tuesday night, she said she had been "hoping if I didn't write it down or say it aloud, I would forget it." Ten students described their experiences to an attentive and tearful female-dominated audience of Dartmouth students and faculty during Speak Out an event that seeks to raise awareness about students' experiences with sexual assault in Collis Common Ground.
Speak Out, which was based on student submissions and both organized and operated by students, was part of Dartmouth's V-Week, a campaign for a victory over female violence, according to Alicia Driscoll '11, one of Speak Out's organizers.
Half of the speakers discussed incidents of sexual assault outside of Dartmouth, while the other presenters reflected on the role Dartmouth played in their experiences of sexual assault, criticizing both the fraternity scene and the administration's reactions.
Amidst the nine female speakers, the solo male presenter spoke about his girlfriend's negative experience with Dartmouth administrators when she filed 10 charges, including four counts of sexual assault, against another student with the Committee on Standards. Dartmouth "failed her," throughout the entire process, he said.
"She feels like the College forgot her a long time ago," he said. "Unfortunately, I am sharing this to say that the way the school handles victims is a tragedy and [by the school] I mean all of us, not just the faculty and administration, but the students."
Speakers described being raped both at Dartmouth and prior to their matriculation, emphasizing their feelings of powerlessness, guilt and the desire to forget it ever happened.
Many speakers said they regretted that they could not leave the audience with a happy ending.
"I wish I could stand here and say that I turned my pain into beauty," a presenter said.
Speak Out and the V-Week's goal of ending violence against women parallels Mentors Against Violence's ongoing mission to foster an environment free from sexual assault and violence, MAV co-director Shanel Balloo '11 said in an interview with the Dartmouth.
"I think Speak Out is even more powerful because it has submissions and stories of real women on this campus, as well as men, who have been through these challenging ordeals," Balloo said. "I think in a way Speak Out offers the harsh reality that violence is not just happening in places like Africa and the Middle East, but is happening here on this campus as well."
The stories demonstrated that there are many types of sexual assaults and attackers, from boyfriends to strangers.
Tissues were passed around to audience members as the last presenter graphically recounted her experiences as a victim of violent rape by an acquaintance she trusted.
Audience members interviewed by The Dartmouth said they hoped the stories would provoke self-examination and result in changes to campus culture.
Speak Out helps victims of sexual assault understand that there are others at the College who have had similar experiences, according to Dana Venerable '13, a Sexual Abuse Peer Advisor in the audience.
Venerable is a member of The Dartmouth Staff.
"People in leadership positions on campus who are here should be going back to their clubs and organizations and trying to make a change, because these events are really powerful and inspirational, but if they don't result in policy change, then what is the point?" Sidny Ginsberg '12 said while crying in an interview with The Dartmouth.
V-Week is modeled as an expansion of V-Day a global movement to end violence against women launched by playwright and writer of The Vagina Monologues' Eve Ensler according to Stephanie Chestnut, assistant director of the Center for Women and Gender.
Andrea Jaresova '12 and Eleanor Killian '11 also organized Speak Out.
