Exeter Holds First Interscholastic Sexual Violence Awareness SummitAwareness Summit
By CARLY CANSECO, ERIN HAN and ANGELA HE
On Friday, April 12, the Academy, led by the clubs Exonians Against Sexual Assault (EASA), Transitions, H4, and Exeter Feminist Club hosted the Sexual Violence Awareness Summit. The Eight School Association, including Choate Rosemary Hall, the Lawrenceville School, and several other New England preparatory schools were invited. Notable speakers included author and activist Chanel Miller, who spoke at the past week’s assembly.
The conference aimed to unite students and adults from the respective schools, regardless of age, race, gender, sexual orientation, or identity, in a collective effort to understand the impact of sexual violence on campus culture and to drive positive change within their communities.
The event began at the Hahn Wrestling Room early Friday morning with intermingling between the different communities. Senior and EASA co-head Nupur Malhotra reflected by saying: “It was really nice to meet all these people because we all shared the common goal [of creating] a community that works to prevent sexual assault and support survivors.”
Attendees had the opportunity to participate in challenging discussions and network with fellow participants and speakers. Senior and co-head of EASA Gigi Lannon recalled, “We had a range of speakers come and I felt that there was representation for just about every kind of person. The speakers talked about the healing process, toxic masculinity, solutions and data, college campuses, the disproportionate effects based on identities like race and orientation, what it means to be a survivor, and consent.” This platform of shared ideas and meaningful discussion fostered a deeper understanding of the complexities surrounding sexual violence, while also creating a safe space for dialogue and reflection on such difficult topics. This not only raised awareness, but also generated a sense of community in the fight against assault.
The summit took almost a year of preparation, requiring dedication and collaboration between PEA faculty and students. Co-heads of EASA and the Feminist Club constituted the event’s student advisory board. Regarding the extensive time for the construction of the event, Malhotra noted, “The purpose of this type of event was to further normalize conversations and show that they’re something that people care about.”
She continued, “The more we have these conversations, the more people feel comfortable speaking up about them, and if something has happened to them or if they have some complaint, the fact that the school is saying that we care enough to put on a whole summit—maybe it’ll make them just a little bit more inclined to tell a friend or tell an adult.”
Lannon highlighted the significance of Exeter being the trailblazer of such an event. “This was supposed to be the first of this annual event,” she said. “It will hopefully move from school to school, and each institution can have their take on how to run it. I think Exeter had the resources and means to host this event because of the effort put in by the administration to educate students, as well as the push from the student body to feel safe on campus.”
The attendance of several boarding schools all gathered at the Academy this year also showcased the rise in awareness of sexual assault cases and the importance of realizing the potential damage it could have in the scholastic community. “The truth is that sexual assault impacts every educational institution. It is a societal issue that cannot be combated by one campus alone,” said Stacy Chen, a co-head of both EASA and the Feminist Club. “Collaborating with these other schools allows us to share experiences and stories in hopes of developing a greater community for change. Our objective is to let people know they are not alone, this event demonstrates that sentiment.”
Malhotra added, “Sexual assault on campus is an issue that not just Exeter faces, but boarding schools face. I think Exeter can sometimes get stuck in a bubble, but when we’re talking about this topic, we’re not alone in it. And I think being around people from different schools showed me that there are people everywhere that are working towards issues like this, and that this knowledge isn’t just for us alone, it’s for everybody and it’s for the benefit of everyone.”
Thus, as a gathering of Northeastern boarding schools, the summit proved to be an experience of mutual learning, in addition to finding insight through shared experiences. “I think that learning what it’s like to live on another campus and going through the same experiences of growing up at a boarding high school but then also being in different environments with other cultures [was an important aspect]. I had never even heard about residential life at Hotchkiss or Lawrenceville,” noted Lannon. “Being able to digest the information we’d heard with other schools and conceptualizing it to our own experiences and being able to hear and share with others was very helpful and interesting for me.”
Overall, the event aimed to serve as another beacon of inspiration in the ongoing fight against sexual violence on boarding school campuses, as many hold a positive outlook for the future “I hope students left feeling prepared or inspired to enact change at their institutions. As many of the speakers said, this type of work is not easy, and it requires tackling the issue from a systemic approach,” said Chen. “These are students that care and are passionate about this work, so I hope they leave with some more tools to bring our communities into a better place.”
Highlighting Miller’s appearance at Friday’s morning assembly, Malhotra reflected with a similar sentiment, “I think the Chanel Miller assembly was a highlight for sure, being in the assembly hall where all Exeter students had gathered was so powerful,” she continued, “Overall I loved the event, honestly. Being able to talk to these speakers and hear their thoughts—it brought together a lot of different perspectives on an issue that isn’t talked about nearly enough.”
