Movement Against Violence is set to expand its programming to freshman floors this term, with a curriculum tailored to the dynamics of first-year communities. The initiative aims to address issues of sexual and domestic violence prevention most relevant to the situations first-year students will likely encounter.
The new curriculum will build on the same mentality of preventative steps prior to an intervention and preventing a culture that tolerates sexual violence. The new programming will, however, focus more heavily on gender and how perceptions of gender can contribute to sexual violence, MAV programming director Jill Horing ’15 said.
MAV functions as a part of the Sexual Assault Awareness Program, which is under the larger umbrella of the Office of Health Promotion and Wellness. The program consists of facilitated discussions on sexual violence. MAV facilitators lead conversations on power dynamics, rape culture, the spectrum of violence and restrictive gender expression.
In the past MAV facilitators have led a large number of discussions in fraternities, sororities and co-ed houses, Sexual Abuse Awareness Program coordinator Amanda Childress said. New members of Greek organizations are required to go through MAV facilitations upon joining. She said that as the program has become more established, it has been looking for ways to expand its presence on campus and will thus move forward to freshmen floors. Childress said that the program’s student leaders have just recently finalized the new curriculum and aim to begin leading facilitations in the coming weeks.
Freshmen undergraduate advisor Taylor Watson ’16 said that the main goal of MAV facilitations is to invite people to think about sexual and domestic violence in real terms, rather than in percentages and statistics. Watson said that while athletic teams and Greek houses have seen success with the MAV facilitations, they also tend to be less diverse than freshmen floors. This relative homogeneity does not bring in as many perspectives and can result in less productive conversations, he said. Watson cited experiences where combined MAV discussions between fraternities and sororities led to a broader array of perspectives, simply because both men and women were included.
The diversity of freshmen floors, as well as the added comfort of close-knit floors, will hopefully lead to more productive conversation, Watson said.
In previous terms, UGAs for freshmen floors have been encouraged to host MAV facilitations as part of weekly floor meetings. Horing said that MAV has been in contact with First-Year Residential Experience to develop the best way to add to existing programming for freshmen.
Horing also said that because freshmen floors are coeducational, MAV facilitations will not be as gender-specific as they are in fraternities and sororities. The new curriculum has a more specific structure aimed at addressing issues freshmen are likelier to encounter, as opposed to the general curriculum used in Greek houses and with other campus organizations.
“When we go into the Greek houses, we think of them as people who are leaders on campus and who have control of some social space and how can we address their role in preventing sexual violence,” Horing said. “Clearly, first-years don’t have that power over a space, but as individuals they do [over situations].”
Childress also emphasized the constantly evolving nature of MAV’s programming and the importance of continuing these discussions.
“As the College has taken on more initiatives on sexual violence, the program has been tailoring its discussion to fill any gaps and to continue the conversation from a peer level,” Childress said. “Students first experience these conversations as freshmen, and if they join a Greek house later on they will see a different iteration and second connection with MAV that will hopefully continue their learning on preventing sexual violence.”
