Discussion List for campus-based and allied personnel working to end gender-based violence on campus.

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I'm reaching out to you all for some clever trouble shooting.
Last week our campus had its Take Back the Night march and I was lucky
enough to have a student who wrote a very moving poem about her
experience in an abusive relationship.
The following morning began with an email from a (female) student which
basically said "i support take back the night but found the poem
offensive..." I'm assuming she's a friend of the male abuser in the
poem, we have a small campus and although no identifying information was
in the poem, there was obviously going to be some people in the march
who knew both parties. I should also mention at this point, that a good
number of our 'marchers' were mandated Greek students. 
I wrote back to her and explained that we had carefully removed all
identifying information and that the goal of the poem was to encourage
victims to seek services and how often in small communities victims are
afraid to say anything based on how they think mutual friends will
react.
However, a few hours later, a male faculty member called me and
basically told me (or at least this is how i heard it) that I was an
idiot for taking a risk like that, having that poem read could have
caused a law suit. As it turns out the perpetrator is one of his
students and was somewhat upset, although not feeling litigious. I again
explained, first amendment rights, no identifying information, the
purpose of the march, the reading of the poem. Again this conversation
included the ' well i support Take Back the Night, but...'
 
So I guess my question is-has anybody ever dealt with this before, how
did you deal with it? I'm considering that my energy might be best spent
working with our judicial officer to develop a handout for faculty on a
more general area of 'what to do when a student you think the world of
is accused of.....'
 
If nothing else, thanks for letting me vent and knowing that I am not
fighting this battle alone.
 
Rebecca Harrington
SUNY Oneonta
 

Health Educator
Office of Health Education
Counseling, Health and Wellness Center
SUNY College at Oneonta
Oneonta, NY 13820
(607) 436-3540 
(607) 436-2074 (f)

 

"If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.
-Abraham Maslow