A program intending to spark conversations surrounding sexual assault on campus brought approximately 130 students to Bones Gate fraternity yesterday afternoon. During the nearly four-and-a-half hour event, which stretched into the early evening, participants listened to an eight-student panel, spoke with faculty and guest speakers and crossed campus to the steps of Dartmouth Hall in a candlelight vigil.
The event’s afternoon portion — which included the panel and remarks from two faculty members and guest-speaker Cindy Pierce, a local comedian, author and activist — was open to men only. While the later portion of the event, which was called Respect Works, was open to campus, the decision to restrict afternoon programming aimed to help encourage participants who are not generally vocal on the issue express their opinions, event co-organizer Robbie Tanner ’16 said.
“We wanted a variety of different types of events so that we could appeal to as wide a variety of people as possible,” co-organizer Connor Gibson ’16 said.
During the panel, which started the event and included female students, speakers shared narratives regarding sexual assault at Dartmouth, ranging from a critique of campus power imbalances to several calls to action.
Sam Macomber ’16, a panelist, encouraged affiliated men to recognize their obligation to be proactive about mitigating sexual assault, offering an anecdote about how he checks in with his friends while on the dance floor to make sure they are comfortable.
“I’m here because I have friends I wish could walk alone around campus at all times without a fleeting thought of being threatened,” Macomber said during his remarks. “I’m here because I hope that the ’18s, ’19s and ’20s have the privilege of joining a community that takes pride in being safe and welcoming.”
Sam Van Wetter ’16, another panelist, encouraged participants to think critically about how campus culture influences even those members of the Dartmouth community who arrive on campus with a solid sense of self.
“If no one has done harm, if no one sees themselves as doing harm, how do we account for that negligence?” he said toward the end of his commentary. “How do we account for that hurt?”
Following the panel, Moving Dartmouth Forward presidential steering committee chair and English professor Barbara Will and writing professor Jennifer Sargent shared their thoughts on consent and the legal consequences of sexual assault.
Will split students into small discussion groups, and Sargent engaged the audience with her perspective as a former public defender and special justice.
Will distributed a handout to participants describing eight sexual encounters, asking students to identify whether consent was present or absent. Will also reviewed the College’s policy on consent and sexual misconduct.
In her remarks, Sargent also drew on a handout reviewing the College’s policy on sexual misconduct, reminding students of the consequences of committing an offense and encouraging them to think critically. At one point, Sargent asked the audience to brainstorm effective ways to ask for consent.
Will and Sargent were followed by Pierce, who shared her perspective as a speaker who has engaged deeply with students and research alongside several humorous anecdotes. After the event, Pierce said that she was impressed by the program.
“Every ’16 I’m sort of tuning into, I feel like there’s more awareness,” she said. “That gives me a lot of hope for Dartmouth. Once things are acknowledged, that’s when change can take place.”
The event follows a spring panel on sexual assault hosted at Chi Heorot fraternity, which Tanner and Gibson said inspired the event.
“I think even before today the event was a success because every step along the road we had incredible support,” Tanner said. “The fact that we were able to participate and plan and organize with so many groups on campus was great, even before anything happened.”
Chase Gilmore ’16, an event attendee and Inter-Fraternity Council summer president, noted the wide participation across houses.
He added that he hoped to see a similar event or a series of smaller conversations on the topic in the fall.
“The earlier we can have these discussions with freshmen, the more likely we’ll be able to make a difference,” he said.
Chad Wilson ’16, another attendee, said when he returned to his fraternity after the event, everyone in the house was talking about it. The student panel was particularly powerful, he said.
Gibson and Tanner said they were pleased with the event’s turnout, which peaked during the student panel and varied over the rest of the program.
Tanner noted that the event’s ultimate success would not be judged solely on the number of attendees.
“If this prevents one instance of sexual assault or makes one person think more critically about the issue and what they can do and how they act, then it’s a success,” Tanner said. “Hopefully a lot of people will be more aware of their actions moving forward.”
Brian Chalif and Laura Weiss contributed reporting.
