As last semester wound to a close, University students woke one Saturday to find seven black banners hanging prominently around Grounds. “No man is an island, Entire of itself,” they began, summoning the famous words of the poet John Donne. The Seven Society hung the banners in light of a series of tragic events during the fall 2012 semester, including the death of a student, several sexual assaults and an alleged hate crime. The words invoke the principles of our honor-inspired, student-maintained “community of trust.”
The message consoles but also offers a challenge: how can we band together to decrease gender violence and re-strengthen our community of trust? I believe the answer lies in educating and engaging students to refuse to idly stand by when possible wrongdoing occurs.
The events of last semester represent a particular challenge to University students’ sense of trust and safety. From an assault occurring in the heart of Central Grounds to an attempted abduction of a student by a dining hall employee, students have greater reason than ever to feel insecure in their community. If we are to fight the unease generated from these incidents, then students must be the ones to act, not just the administration. As University President Teresa Sullivan noted in a recent email to students: “Living in a community of trust involves values and principles that extend beyond the refusal to lie, cheat, or steal.”
Yet University authorities have done much to respond to the recent incidents. New response mechanisms and procedures have been put in place, and as Gina Maisto Smith, an attorney and expert in higher-education sexual-misconduct policy, has noted, the University has “great [sexual misconduct] policies, and an excellent investigative model.” While such structures are critical in addressing and processing gender-violence cases, they do little in terms of prevention. They fail to draw on the University’s biggest resource — its students.
Like many colleges, the University has a history of treating gender violence as a two-party issue between the offender and the victim. Educational programs reflect this approach. Such programs often focus on self-defense, instructing students to say “no” to unwanted advances, and teaching students to be cautious with alcohol consumption. While it is critical we address these topics, there is most often a third party present in gender violence cases: the bystander. Though bystanders often play no role in how gender-violence scenarios occur, they can become essential crime-reducing elements with the right education.
Scholarship on gender violence tells us that bystanders often feel uncomfortable or unsure of what is appropriate when witnessing a potential crime, but that they become much more likely to act if they have schemas (social rules of thumb) for intervening. While it has become socially acceptable to ask someone at a party if they feel sick or need a ride home, no equivalent exists for potential sexual assaults. For example, if you saw a man guide a visibly drunk girl to the upstairs of a fraternity house, how do you know if you are looking at a potential hook up or a potential sexual assault?
“The line is almost always unclear,” said Dorothy Edwards, an expert in prevention of gender violence. “As bystanders we need to collect more information, we need to get more comfortable just going ‘hey, what’s up.’” Instead of merely increasing the number of programs that address the potential offender and victim, the University should teach students to be resist being bystanders, which could be as simple as saying “Hey, could I talk to you for a minute?” and taking the person aside to gauge the situation. When such actions become a normal part of our party culture, we will have a safer environment.
The idea of the active bystander is consistent with the principles of a community of trust. The events of last semester cannot destroy these deeply ingrained values, but they offer a challenge to strengthen and renew them. Returning to the words of John Donne, we must lean on each other for help when faced with new challenges to the community.
George Knaysi is a Viewpoint writer for The Cavalier Daily.
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