On Tuesday night, April 21, Students Talking About Relationships (STAR), Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA), the Rape Crisis Center (RCC), the Office of Prevention Services and Brandeis Students Against Sexual Violence (B.SASV) hosted Take Back the Night to break the silence around sexual violence and work towards eliminating sexual violence on campus. We cannot avoid tough conversations if we wish to see change. The Brandeis Hoot editorial board would like to emphasize how important it is that students recognize this and participate in events like Take Back the Night. The event itself was moving and powerful, and demonstrated the importance of supporting survivors. It is essential that we come together and create a community of support, as this will encourage more survivors to seek support and ensure they feel safe on their campus. Take Back the Night is an excellent opportunity for students to do this. Activists on this campus fight hard for reform, but beyond those who lead the fight, all Brandeis students must offer their support for and commitment to this important issue.
Although changes within the student community are important, there are—of course—changes that must occur at the administrative level. This week, Brandeis demonstrated a willingness to move forward when they released the Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Violence. The survey seeks to understand what is happening on campus in terms of student experience with sexual violence and the resources available to survivors. The survey is detailed but not tedious and long so as to discourage participants from abandoning mid-survey. A task force included faculty, staff and students. We appreciate their work as it is evident the questions were well thought out. The Hoot editorial board believes survey results can translate into valuable campus improvements. The survey does not include many questions about emotional abuse; however, Sexual Assault Services and Prevention Specialist Sheila McMahon said she hopes to continue this process next year with further surveys. McMahon and everyone involved with the climate survey has demonstrated how committed they are to bettering Brandeis University.
We would also like to acknowledge that fact that Brandeis is very interested in having as many students as possible respond to this survey. All students who participate will receive their choice of a $5 Chipotle or Amazon gift card. With the recent dining services survey, the university offered to donate $10 to the Sodexo foundation for each participant, with a certain monetary limit. The gift cards are incentives which are designed to encourage high levels of participation. This makes us believe that the administration is eager work with the information they gain from the survey.
The Hoot encourages all students to take the campus climate survey. Students can provide responses through this confidential vehicle and in doing so help the university to understand student experience. The Hoot has often called for the university to listen to students and understand their needs. In the case of the survey, the university appears willing to listen, so students must respond in order to help the university continue in the right direction.
