Exonians Against Sexual Assault

During the 2016-17 school year, Claire Dauge-Roth ‘17 founded Exonians Against Sexual Assault (EASA) as a response to the revelation of sexual misconduct cases and their profound impact on the entire Phillips Exeter Academy community. The club is now led by seniors Lulu Ezekwenna, Jane Collins, Grace Carroll and Shaan Bhandarkar.EASA’s original mission was to highlight and advance the vital need among students for increased education and discussion on topics such as sexual assault and harassment, gender discrimination and student sexuality and relationships. By providing students with opportunities for discussion, Dauge-Roth believed that these conversations would “help propagate a culture of respect for other students and target behaviors on campus that could lead to sexual assault.” Since its inception, EASA has used a variety of methods to educate Exonians about sexual assault. In January of 2017, EASA board members held a series of inter-dorm discussions on the school’s “hookup culture.” In preparation for facilitating these discussions, board members received training and worked closely with the Dean’s Office and the administration. Recalling these past dorm discussions, Ezekwenna admitted that while she “loved dorm discussions,” she understood other students found them uncomfortable or did not care for them. This year Ezekwenna notes that EASA is “using the dorm discussions from two years ago to learn from that and do more things that work well. We want an all-around, positive feedback.”As part of the current board’s efforts to improve the club’s effectiveness, members are making the club agenda more proactive than reactive. “The club was formed as a reaction to the things that were happening at the school,” Ezekwenna said. “But going forward we want to be proactive about what we’re doing. We want to instill those good values into the school.” EASA board members hope that by having conversations with lowerclassmen in health classes about relationships based on mutual respect, these students will know how to recognize relationships which are unhealthy. Collins sees an opportunity to “have the culture be more towards healthy relationships, rather than a reaction to something.”EASA is working on its goals one event at a time. The day before Saturday’s annual “Back in Black” dance hosted by Dunbar Hall, student leaders on campus wore EASA’s familiar “Got Consent?” T-shirts to promote a healthy culture on the dance floor.A dinner is also planned with H4 for later in the term so that students and faculty can come together and share opinions and ideas.  In the spring EASA will host a “Consent-fest,” which Ezekwenna describes as a time “where EASA members collaborate with other clubs and talk about consent in a variety of different ways.” Collins believes it is important to connect with different student groups and campus organizations. Talking about sexual assault and the ways members of the PEA community can avoid a repeat of past misconduct and promote healthy relationships. “I think the more voices we have, the easier it will get to form a fluid conversation,” Collins said.EASA is comprised of a lower and upper board which meet on Thursday evenings. While EASA members recognize that sexual assault is a subject for all members of the PEA community, they are quick to remind people that this club is entirely student run. “We aren’t a branch of the faculty or the administration.”