In an attempt to reduce the number of sexual assaults on campus and raise student awareness, all 10 eating clubs have held or scheduled presentations on sexual assault. The move comes as the clubs prepare for pickups and initiations this week.
Representatives from Sexual Harassment/Assault Advising, Resources, and Education (SHARE) are leading the workshops, which are geared toward current eating club members, Marco Fossati-Bellani '07, the former president of Colonial and the Interclub Council, said in an e-mail.
Presented to male and female students separately, the workshops last about an hour, SHARE director Suraiya Baluch said in an e-mail.
"The content for the men's program consists of viewing a short DVD of the experience and aftermath of the sexual assault of a male police officer," Baluch said. Following the video, male students discuss the similar experiences of female survivors, she added.
The women's workshop, meanwhile, begins by informing participants of statistics and myths about sexual assault, Baluch said. Female students then read "an account of sexual assault written by a Princeton student" and participate in an "experiential exercise," she added.
Both workshops include advice on assisting a friend who has survived a sexual assault.
"What we hope to accomplish with these workshops is to fine-tune the sensitivity people already have and to give them some practical tools and information on how to help a friend who discloses she or he has been sexually assaulted," Baluch said.
While some clubs, such as Cloister Inn, have scheduled SHARE workshops for early February, most of the eating clubs, including Charter and Colonial, have already held presentations by SHARE representatives during the fall semester.
"We were happy to work with SHARE" toward "fostering a safe and healthy social environment," Charter Club president Will Scharf '08 said.
Baluch said that SHARE was pleased with the high student turnout at many of the workshops.
"What's encouraging is that the workshops have been mandatory in some clubs," she said. "All the workshops were really supported by the officers of the clubs."
Origins of the program
The SHARE workshops were conceived last April, when RCAs met with University health and public safety officials to discuss a series of alcohol abuse incidents and sexual assaults. The events occurred during last year's bicker/sign-in period and the rest of that academic year.
"It's not an issue that only comes up this time of year," noted Sarah Erickson '07, a Wilson RCA who was present at the discussion.
During the April discussion, "meetings with SHARE were one of the ideas [suggested]," Fossati-Bellani said, "and it appears all the clubs are coming through."
SHARE has "spent the past year since last year's bicker reinforcing the message that the friendships and relationships students build can be strengthened, rather than compromised, by students being willing to speak out against unsafe behavior," Baluch said.
The discussions last April also prompted the formation of a group called SpeakOut!, which includes undergraduates, graduates, administrators and SHARE representatives. SpeakOut! meets on a weekly basis "to discuss exactly how to raise awareness about sexual assault," co-founder Catherine Cushenberry '07 said in an e-mail.
Erickson also said that SpeakOut! is looking for ways to provide resources to victims of sexual assault.
SpeakOut! is currently "working with the eating clubs to get in as many SHARE presentations as possible," Erickson said.
Public awarenessCushenberry said that SpeakOut!'s next major project will be hanging posters across campus that list resources for survivors of sexual assault, define the terms "assault" and "harassment" and "promote the idea that consent ... is a necessity, not an option."
The poster campaign, on which "all the UHS peer education groups" collaborated, is "about choosing the values of respect, integrity, and dignity," Baluch said.
The posters feature anonymous testimonials about Bicker and initiations on brightly colored backgrounds.
"I made some girl give me a lap dance and it turned out she was my roommate's little sister," one poster reads. "He broke my nose and my Playstation but at least she was hot."
A disclaimer at the bottom of each poster reads, "This is not an anti-bicker or anti-eating club campaign. This is a campaign about respecting yourself and others."
"It's important to stress that the eating clubs are not the villains in this situation," Erickson said.
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