Vassar Takes a Stand

The Vassar community participated in a national Clothesline Project Initiative to decorate t-shirts with messages for those affected by domestic violence.

Vassar students have access to a number of on-campus resources that address domestic violence. The Sexual Assault Violence Prevention (SAVP) program provides education and programming pertaining to sexual assault, partner abuse, and stalking. The Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), composed of faculty and administrators, provides one-on-one conversation, support, and information for victims of sexual assault and abuse. Vassar students can also call Counseling and Assistance in Response to Rape and Exploitive Sexual Activity (CARES), a confidential and student-run peer-listening resource. The College Counseling Service, Health Services, and Security, as well as the Dean of Students, Residential Life, and the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life are also prepared to address concerns and provide assistance to victims of all forms of abuse.

CARES is responsible for Vassar’s annual Sexual Assault Awareness week. This year, from April 21 to April 25, Vassar students were able to participate in a wide range of events and discussions. One such activity was the “1 in 4” campaign, deriving its name from CARES’s estimate that one out of every four college women has experienced some form of sexual assault. On Monday, students were handed yellow “1 in 4” t-shirts; the next day the campus was speckled with dots of yellow, creating a dramatic visual metaphor and powerful message for the entire community.

Vassar is also leading a new consortium of neighboring schools, including Bard, Marist, SUNY New Paltz, Dutchess Community College, and the Culinary Institute of America, in an effort to pool resources and ideas on these issues. Racine Amos, SAVP coordinator, hopes the consortium will “lead us to begin to develop and strengthen cross-campus efforts and coordination with various community agencies, including local law enforcement and victim assistance programs.”