EWU working to stop violence

Many of you may have read the two articles that appeared in The Spokesman-Review recently regarding sexual assaults on college campuses.

I believe the report neglected to adequately communicate the important work other universities in our state, including Eastern Washington University, are doing to address sexual violence prevention on college campuses.

At Eastern, our accomplishments are many and include nearly 100 faculty and staff who have been trained as “first responders” and who are equipped to offer appropriate resources and support to victims. We also have 976 students who have been exposed to “Green Dot,” a program that provides active bystander training. Eastern is also proud of our full-time Violence Prevention Victim Advocate position and the Gender Violence Prevention Task Force that works on training, education and policy.

The university also has a third-party reporting system in place to confidentially track incidents not reported to law enforcement. This system can track one offender who may have multiple victims. Additionally, we are pleased to report that our student government dedicates a certain percentage of its annual budget to sexual violence prevention and education programs.

These are just a few of the examples of the many things we are doing to address this important issue.

Despite all of our efforts, all the training in the universe cannot account for the person who says the wrong thing and does so in a hurtful or uncompassionate way. However, I am compelled to throw the problem back at society and ask, “What are you doing?”

Absent are the programs that teach our young men what their boundaries are, where their boundaries should be, and to support each other in adherence to those boundaries. Decidedly absent is the societal view that rape is a crime committed by one person on another, as opposed to the notion that it is a crime people bring onto themselves by their behavior or actions.

I do not deny that college environments hold a special significance and challenge when it comes to behaviors that promote safety or health. However, I feel we all share in this responsibility, and to single out the college environment without mentioning the accountability of our entire society is slightly misguided.

Colleges and universities only have students for a short time, while society has them for a lifetime.

Sexual assault in college is a tragic display of the collision of personal and societal issues that shatter lives and create misery. Our research tells us that most of our students experience harassment more than actual assault, that the perpetrator often drinks more alcohol than the victim, that the victim is often not on campus and usually knows the perpetrator.

Again, a series of factors that make any highly organized or comprehensive approach a particularly difficult challenge for higher education.

Colleges and universities encourage and promote development of the whole person in preparation for positive contributions to society and our communities. However, our communities may not be ready, or willing, to continue supporting those messages once our students leave our institutions.

Our challenge – all of our challenge – is to not be divisive in our actions, but to act collaboratively with unified messages against the perpetrator and in support of the victims of sexual violence.

In closing, I commend my close colleagues and prevention partners for their support and contributions. I am saddened to hear of any student whose life is tragically and negatively altered while on my campus or any other. I shake my finger at a society that perpetuates a culture supportive of these behaviors while turning its back on the victims of this crime.

I rest on my work and my laurels knowing that the Eastern community continues to work to prevent these situations from happening, to provide adequate and appropriate supports when they do, and to clear the channels for repercussions for offenders.

Lastly, I continue to set my alarm, begin my work day morning routine and strive to give students the tools they need to navigate both the personal and academic challenges they will face.