The Revolution is On

To the Deans and Community of Haverford College:

We, as students at Haverford with a commitment to social justice, cannot continue to ignore the failures of social justice for survivors on this campus. In listening to the stories of student survivors at Haverford, we have come to recognize the failures of our community--both students and administrators--to effect meaningful change around issues of rape and sexual assault. We want to discuss two parts of the issue, procedural and cultural, because both need to be addressed in order to create a community where the values of trust, concern, and respect extend into considerations of sexual violence.

To this end, we call attention to the procedural breakdowns that foster a hostile environment for survivors and their allies. Furthermore, we point to the need for a cultural shift around issues of sexuality, and the potential role of policy change in this shift.

We are especially concerned with classroom dynamics and administrative practices that force survivors to “out” themselves, with non-compliance with laws designed to protect student safety and the rights of survivors, and with a campus culture where getting enthusiastic consent is not the norm.

We call on you, the Deans, to enact the following policy changes:

We call for education to prevent sexual assault before it happens, making sure not to perpetuate myths around sexual assault (e.g., all survivors are women, all rapists are men; alcohol causes sexual violence). We call for use of language that acknowledges agency (“survivor,” not “victim”), particularly in the context of official panels or talks, in academic discussions, and in orientation for incoming freshmen. We call for updates and improvements to all official sexual violence literature. We call for these updates to include: full compliance with the Clery Act and Title IX; survivor-friendly language that does not assume gender; a discussion of other factors involved in sexual assault besides alcohol; and an introduction to enthusiastic consent. We call for a shift in administrative priorities emphasizing the protection of students’ physical and emotional well-being over protection from legal liability. We call for serious, substantial student input in these and other changes to sexual misconduct policies. We call for a new president committed to culture and policy change, as listed but not limited to the above.

We call on you, the faculty and students, to support the following practices:

We call for sensitivity, responsibility, and respect in academic considerations of sexual violence. We call for the use of “survivor” in place of “victim” in discussions of sexual violence. We call for use of “trigger warnings” to make others aware that sensitive issues, such as sexual violence, will brought up in class, readings, or student work. We call for academic discussions of sexual violence that recognize that there may be a survivor present.

We call on you, the community, to commit to the following standards:

We call for protection for survivors from hostile environments. We call for a culture where active bystanders and explicit, enthusiastic consent are the norm. We call for respect for anonymity in both academic and social situations. We call for valued listening to student survivors who wish to share their stories.

We the undersigned urgently call for the above changes and pledge our commitment to effecting justice for all members of the Haverford community.