Smithies for Restorative Justice hosted a sit out to hold space for sexual assault survivors in the afternoon of Saturday April 22. The action happened in the CCTV room and was attended by over 25 students. Students came to share their stories, find community support, and draft a list of demands to be sent to the Board of Trustees.
The sit out was inspired by the experience of Steph Garib ’24J who submitted an anonymous letter to The Sophian on April 19, 2022.
“When I wrote the letter, I just wanted ResLife to apologize for what happened,” said Garib. “But now I’m really upset and I don’t want this to happen to anyone else.”
The beginning of the sit out gave participants a safe space to share their thoughts and experiences on sexual assault. Students sat close together in the dimly lit room, allowing them to take turns and speak as softly as they wanted. Comments were often followed by periods of silence as the group held space to feel the full impact of what was being shared.
“I think it’s also important for survivors to have space to see each other and remember that we exist because sometimes it feels isolating when no one wants to talk about it,” said a participant.
Following the sharing of personal experiences, the group began brainstorming a list of institutional changes they believed would help survivors.
During the event, former Student ResLife employees reflected on the “robotic” protocols that are currently in place to address sexual assault reports.
“The protocol is very much focused on a hierarchical reporting structure,” explained Molly Hart ’24J, who was formerly employed by ResLife as house coordinator for Tenney. “We were encouraged to speak with compassion but essentially redirect them to the area director.”
Participants cited this hierarchical structure as a flaw in the ResLife protocol. They argued that it denies students the autonomy to make decisions regarding the course of action following a reported assault and defers the responsibility to their superiors, who, they believe, often fail to act accordingly.
“Basically if someone came to us if they were assaulted,” recalled Hart, “we stop them and say ‘I’m a responsible reporter, anything you say to me going forward I will have to put into a report for the area director.’”
In a statement, Smith Title IX Coordinator Martha Alexander explained that the college has three confidential resources for reporting sexual misconduct: the Schacht Center, Matilda Cantwell, and Marge Litchford.
“All other faculty and staff are private reporters, which means that they are obligated to share reports with the Office for Equity and Inclusion.”
Sit out participants called for several ResLife protocol changes, including integrating more training content regarding consent, increasing awareness of the fact that any gender can be the victim or perpetrator of sexual assault, and teaching employees how to react empathetically to students bringing forward sexual assault allegations.
Another demand participants presented was the expansion of the Title IX office. Smith College’s Title IX office has one Title IX Coordinator, with three deputies with specific areas of focus. Sit out participants cited the presence of only one Title IX Coordinator as evidence of the school negating the severity of sexual assault on campus and argued that the college was more concerned with protecting its reputation than its students.
As the conversation continued, participants voiced concerns that Smith was not acknowledging the the severity of sexual assault on campus. One participant suggested filing a US Department of Education claim against the institution. They argued that the institution was not properly reporting the crimes taking place on campus and argued that filing a USDE claim would prompt them to do so.
Participants also brought forward concerns that Smith is trying to protect their institutions’ reputation by painting a “false narrative” that assault on campus rarely occurs. As evidence, they cited other Five College actions to send out campus-wide Sexual Assault statistics and sharing physical and mental health resources for survivors, which Smith did not do.
Participants called on Smith to urge staff members to acknowledge the sexual assault that occurs on campus, send out comprehensive statistics, and reframe sexual assault as a community issue- rather than one limited to ResLife, the Title IX office, class deans and provosts.
The final issue participants brought forward was the lack of trust between students and the Smith administration, staff, and faculty.
I think a lot more trust is needed and to tear down the assumption that when we ask for things we need, we just want cushy nice lives,” said a participant. “These are things that we really really do need.”
On its Title IX & Smith College webpage, the institution pledges to “act to prevent, address and eliminate all forms of sex discrimination.” Sexual assault is included in their definition of “sex discrimination.” The page continues pledging to “facilitate prompt, thorough and fair investigations and adjudication of complaints of sexual misconduct”.
When a sexual assault allegation is reported to a ResLife student employee, they are required to report a sexual assault to the area director. From there, a ResLife staff member is required to reach out to the student, and the area director is required to file a report with the Title Nine office. The student who originally brought forward the sexual assault allegation is then responsible to decide weather or not they want to go through the Title IX process.
Garib believed this protocol had not been properly followed when they filed their report.
“During the first meeting I wasn’t referred to any resources or the Title IX office,” said Garib. “A month later I contacted Kia Brown, who was the superior of the ResLife staff person I contacted initially following the incident. They said the issue was never reported, and they didn’t know about it.”
The Title IX office declined to comment on the Garib’s case specifically, but did provide the following statement:
“Individuals who report discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct receive outreach from the Office for Equity and Inclusion staff within 3 business days.”
Garib received a room change following their meeting with Kia, but was never told why their initial claim wasn’t filed over a month earlier.
“I think I said in the moment that it was a sexual assault and not a rape. And I don’t think they take that really seriously. ‘Ok just another person who, something bad happened or [they were] too drunk in their room.’”
Garib also mentioned that at the time of their initial report, they had only told two people about the assault and was still processing what had happened to them.
“The second time I spoke to ResLife, Kia was like ‘were you crying or were you emotionally distressed?’ and I said ‘no.’ Then they told me, ‘oh, that’s probably why people didn’t take it that seriously. ’”
Garib also spoke with their class dean as they waited for a room reassignment.
“ResLife never referred me to Title IX,” said Garib, “It was my dean who connected me with the office.”
After talking to the Title IX office Garib decided not to go down the Title IX pipeline.
“I feel like some survivors think that going through the law is a way of restoring what was taken from them,” said Garib, “and I fully support people who do want to do that, but in my case, I feel like the people who were supposed to believe me did not and I feel like [not being believed] hurt more than the actual incident to me.”
Smithies for Restorative Justice do not have any event planned for the remainder of the year, but are hopeful to hold more actions in the future.
“I hope there will be more events like this,” said a participant who helped organize the action. “Sometimes it’s a burden on those who have to organize these events and have to be constantly thinking about it.”
ResLife was also contacted for an interview but did not respond.
Disclaimer: Given the intimate environment of the sit out, it is important to note that no quotes in this story were taken from the event itself and notes and information included in the story were pre approved with all participants.
Note from the author:
If you or someone you now is a victim of sexual assault, you are not alone. There is a community at Smith to support you. We have mental health resources and protocols in place to protect you and help you through these difficult times. Please do not hesitate to reach out to any of the linked resources.
● National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255) ● Smith counseling services: 413-585-2840 or counselingservices@smith.edu ● MA Toll-Free Suicide Hotline: 1-800-322-0424; 1-800-799-4889 TTY ● National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673
● National Resources for Sexual Assault Survivors and their Loved Ones: https://www.rainn.org/national-resources-sexual-assault-survivors-and-their-loved-ones
