The College has scrapped plans for the Center for Community Action and Prevention, instead aiming to incorporate its proposed sexual assault prevention responsibilities into the student health promotion and wellness office — an office currently in flux. The creation of a sexual violence prevention hub, announced in February by former Dean of the College Charlotte Johnson and cited as evidence of Dartmouth’s leadership in combatting sexual assault, was abandoned following faculty and student concerns about separating violence prevention programs from survivor support services, said associate Dean of the College Liz Agosto.
Agosto said incorporating prevention into the health promotion and wellness office — which includes the Sexual Assault Awareness Program as well as services addressing alcohol and drug use and mental health issues — will streamline the support system for survivors.
“We know that most people on campus are not perpetuating violence,” Agosto said. “So building up prevention efforts as well as healthy behavior work actually shows lots of benefits in terms of making sure that people have the skills to intervene, to recognize negative experiences themselves.”
The Center for Community Action and Prevention, initially slated for a July opening but then delayed to the fall, was proposed to oversee Dartmouth Bystander Initiative training and other violence prevention programs. Dartmouth announced the center on the same day it announced a 14-percent drop in applications.
Susy Struble, founder of the nonprofit group Dartmouth Change, criticized the shift in plans, saying it demonstrated the inconsistency of the current administration.
“Dartmouth is treating sexual assault and violence as a PR issue,” she said.
Agosto said CCAP was largely the vision of Jennifer Messina ’93, who helped develop the Dartmouth Bystander Initiative but is no longer working with the College.
The proposed center’s focus on prevention will now fall under the purview of the health promotion office, which has seen significant changeover this year.
Health promotion and student wellness director Aurora Matzkin resigned Aug. 31, leaving a vacancy in the leadership of the office that houses the SAAP program and peer advisor groups. One former coordinator, Amanda Childress, has stepped in as assistant director as a search for director ensues, but said she will continue to work with sexual assault survivors. The other coordinator, Rebekah Carrow, has left the College.
Benjamin Bradley began as survivor advocate, a new position in the SAAP office, last month. Bradley said he is attuned to the diversity of sexual assault victims.
“I will do my very best to support students survivors of all identities,” he said.
Childress said the office is collaborating to ensure that no students fall through the cracks during the transition.
Title IX and Clery Act compliance coordinator Heather Lindkvist, who began in August, said the institutional restructuring will not affect her communication with health and wellness promotion staff. In her role, Lindkvist works with staff across the College, including the office of the provost, the general counsel and the office of judicial affairs. She said she will continue to collaborate with SAAP, “regardless of where they sit on a structure.”
She said the restructuring “in no way diminishes the goals of CCAP” but shows the College is willing to incorporate community feedback.
These changes come amid two federal investigations and the enactment of a new sexual misconduct policy.
The Department of Education began investigating Dartmouth’s compliance with the Clery Act on Aug. 18, and a Title IX investigation is ongoing. A June policy on sexual assault mandates an external adjudicator and sets expulsion as the punishment for rape under certain conditions.
Correction appended: Sept. 18, 2014
The Center for Community Action and Prevention was initially slated to open in July, not June.
