EASA Holds Proctor Meeting
Exonians Against Sexual Assault (EASA) club heads met with dorm and day student proctors last weekend to discuss a new joint initiative in which EASA will host inter-dorm conversations on sexual assault and the Academy’s campus hookup culture. “These conversations are a place for students to talk about expectations, our campus culture and how to foster a healthy sexual culture on campus,” senior, president and founder of EASA Claire Dauge-Roth said.
EASA is planning to host around two required meetings per term for each dorm, in which boys and girls dorms will be matched together. The conservations will be facilitated by EASA board members, who have been trained by Jane Stapleton, the interim co-director of Student Well-being. Faculty will not be present at these discussions, but proctors present will take note of major conversation topics. Faculty and administration will discuss the notes taken after the conversations. This is intended “to provide the adults on campus with an anonymous report of the way the students experience the boarding-school culture,” according to senior Emily Robb, vice president of EASA. Dean of Students Arthur Cosgrove explained that the inter-dorm meetings are intended to spark “conversations about social norms and behaviors on campus that can be improved to make our community more aware and safer.”
“Proctors are the liaison between students and faculty and the board and the students. You know the dorm best and we would appreciate any advice you have for us.”
While the initiative was spearheaded by EASA along with the interim co-director of student well-being, Tina Sciocchetti and other deans, the proctors were included to aid the discussion and provide guidance. “As student leaders in the dormitories, proctor support and leadership will be helpful during these conversations,” Cosgrove said.
Dauge-Roth explained the importance of proctors in facilitating conversation and connecting the faculty and administration with students. “Proctors are the liaison between students and faculty and the board and the students. You know the dorm best and we would appreciate any advice you have for us,” she said, in an email sent to all proctors.
Details on the inter-dorm discussions are still being finalized. The exact population makeup of each meeting hasn’t been decided yet. EASA is currently considering dividing lowerclassmen and upperclassmen, or hosting conversations with each grade separately. Small groups of day students may join dorm groups. Day student proctors would be expected to facilitate discussions similarly to dorm proctors in such a case.
Upper Pedro Sanson was worried that students would have trouble discussing a topic of such a sensitive nature. “Students may find it uncomfortable at first because this topic can be hard to talk about,” he said.
Robb addressed those fears, making clear that students who don’t want to participate will not have to, and that resources will be available to students who are sensitized by the discussion. Dorm faculty, counselors and student listeners will be available throughout the meetings. Students will be allowed to leave the meetings at any point, and students who contact their dorm head prior to the meeting may be excused from attending.
Senior Brian Choi questioned whether the conversations would truly be free from faculty intervention. “The whole point of this was so students wouldn’t be hindered by faculty, but won’t the overall topic of the discussion go to the faculty?” he said.
Robb made clear that faculty and administration would only be given a generalized summary of the discussion, with no specific names mentioned whatsoever.
Lower Bianca Beck was glad that the discussions would help educate younger students on sexual consent and healthy sexual behavior. “I think it’s important for the preps and new students to know who to go to and what to do when they’re put in an uncomfortable situation that may or may not be sexual assault,” she said.
Upper Pedro Sanson was enthusiastic about the planned discussions. He felt that they would bring “many different voices and perspectives,” to conversations around hookup culture and sexual misconduct.
Senior Aivant Goyal, a proctor in Soule Hall, believed this was an important step forward. “[The sexual climate] is one of those things that affects everyone equally but we can’t really talk about it openly with the administration,” he said. Goyal hopes that this will create more dialogue and normalize this issue.
EASA hopes to encourage more conversations around sexuality, and to mitigate any stigmas that surround those discussions. “We want students to be able to express the pressures they are feeling or not so that there is a greater understanding amongst students,” Dauge-Roth said. “We want these conversations to help propagate a culture of respect for other students and target behaviors on our campus that can lead to assault.”