Students leading the #BringBacktheAC campaign said they are not satisfied with the fact sheet describing the reasoning for the realignment of sexual assault resources released by Syracuse University on Wednesday.

Chancellor Kent Syverud announced in a memorandum to the SU community on May 30 that the services within the Advocacy Center would be split and the Counseling Center would become the primary source for providing sexual assault resources for students. On June 4, the Advocacy Center officially closed.

The same day Syverud announced the changes to the Advocacy Center, Erin Carhart, an SU alumna who graduated this spring, created a petition demanding that SU reinstate the Advocacy Center’s services for sexual assault prevention, education, and counseling programs.  The petition currently has more than 5,700 signatures.

The petition also jumpstarted the student-run #BringBacktheAC Facebook campaign. In response to students’ concerns, SU released a fact sheet that described how the new structure for sexual violence resources would work.

One point the fact sheet clarified is that the new structure will create “a single-point privileged resource” for students and faculty. Currently, there are five locations on campus to seek services for sexual assault. The sheet also mentioned that privileged and confidential descriptions of resources have different meanings by law. A service that is non-privileged and confidential must still provide a student’s information about the nature, date, time and general location of an incident. The Counseling Center is both a privileged and confidential source, unlike the Advocacy Center, according to the fact sheet.

Paul Ang, who was a graduate assistant for the Advocacy Center, said it’s problematic to take away resource options from sexual assault victims, because sexual assault victims need to have their options and voices empowered, not restricted.

“What I don’t understand is, why are we limiting sources?” Ang said.

By placing sexual assault services in a privileged space, he added, it creates an appearance that there is less sexual violence on campus through campus security reports. He said when a campus security report shows there are fewer incidents of sexual assault, it will seem like less of a problem on campus.

Ang said the details students must reveal in a non-privileged, confidential space can be very general and does not threaten the revealing of students’ identities.

Other points outlined in the university’s fact sheet include:

 

• There will be no interruption in the services provided by SU for survivors of sexual assault and relationship violence on campus
• The Division of Student Affairs listened to students for the past year, and it was determined that students were concerned with any portion of their story being shared
• Students have been using services within the Counseling Center and the Advocacy Center in equal numbers based on data over the last four years
• The Counseling Center provides 24-hours support, crisis intervention, consultation and advocacy to all full-time and part-time enrolled students throughout the year
• Two new positions will be created within the Counseling Center. Susan Pasco has been appointed the associate director, as well as the sexual and relationship violence clinical response coordinator. Shewill provide oversight and management of the center’s services in regard to sexual violence. Pasco has worked in the Counseling Center since 1994. A search is underway for a second sexual and relationship violence therapist with a fall 2014 start date.
• Existing student groups involved with the Advocacy Center will continue to exist. Jill Sneider will continue to lead and work with the programs as well.

 

The fact sheet concluded that the changes in sexual assault services at SU are in line with the guidelines and best practices published in the White House Task Force report in April. A campus climate survey will be conducted, and members of the Syracuse University community will come together in the upcoming months to review the Sexual Misconduct Policy, according to the fact sheet.

Ang said the fact sheet still fails to recognize explicitly that the Advocacy Center is closed, which, he added, eliminates the special location of having the counseling, education and advocacy programs together.

“That’s what made the AC so special, ” Ang said. “The fact is, the community identity has been taken away.”

Ang said the fact sheet did not address the concern with the location of the Counseling Center, which is on Walnut Avenue near frat row, and walking by Greek houses may cause issues for victims of sexual assault.

Carhart, the alumna who created the petition, said the fact sheet was not a satisfying response for students who have been involved in the #BringBacktheAC campaign. She said students who have individually emailed Syverud have received the same response from Rebecca Reed Kantrowitz, senior vice president for student affairs, which said students will receive more correspondence in the future. Students voices feel oppressed and they are planning more forward action by calling Syverud’s office, because emailing has not been effective, she added.

Ang said he wants the university to take a step back and acknowledge that students are not satisfied with the nature and timing of the change. He added that he would like to see a specific task force composed of people from Vera House, the police, students and faculty to collaborate and come together in response as a first step to address changes for the location of sexual assault services on campus.

“I think anything less than that diminishes what the AC meant to people,” Ang said.

Published on June 9, 2014 at 5:43 pm

Contact Anna: almerod@syr.edu