Six cases have been given to Sexual Assault Survivor Advocates (SASA) since the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year, according to Wendy Wippich, director of sexual assault education and prevention program, and Sarah Ryan, the Women’s Center director. Faculty learned about this number in a presentation at the October faculty meeting on Monday.
The faculty was also given advance notice for a vote that will occur at the November faculty meeting. They will vote on approving a museum studies minor and other committee changes. Rebecca Schindler, professor of classical studies, talked about changes being made to the first-year seminar set-up. Mariel Wilderson, director of communications, gave a preview of the new DePauw University website.
Wippich and Ryan gave a presentation to faculty about sexual assault and how they can help as members of the campus community. Their presentation included information about current resources on campus such as SASA, Title IX, the Green Dot program and more.
The presentation also gave an overview of statistics of “power based violence” based on the 2016 calendar year. Power-based violence is a form of violence where one party asserts their power in order to harm another, this includes; sexual assault, rape, stalking, intimidation, and other forms of harassment. This information was sent to the campus community by Angie Nally, director of Public Safety, in an email on Sept. 29.
Wippich and Ryan said they saw a trend of students looking for resources on campus more than instigating an investigation during the 2016-2017 school year. Both women said the 2017 school year has started with six cases being brought to SASA. This compares to last year when only one case was brought to SASA. Ryan said the rising trend of cases being brought to SASA is similar to the rising trend of hospitalizations due to overconsumption of alcohol. Ryan also mentioned that alcohol has been involved in every case brought to SASA in either one or all parties involved.
The presentation wrapped up with tips on how faculty can be advocates for consent culture in the classroom.
The faculty was given notice of a motion to vote on a museum studies minor. The minor was proposed through the art and art history department. According to the agenda handed out at the meeting, the purpose is to “prepare liberal arts students to work in entry-level positions in art museums and other cultural institutions, or to enter graduate programs aimed at preparing them for careers in museum and cultural management.”
The agenda also states the minor will not require additional staffing. The art department said in their proposal that they desire the next full-time art history member to have expertise in the field. The department also conducted research and surveys to gather student opinions. 57 students responded to the survey, which was administered in the fall of 2016. 63 percent said they would be likely to declare a museum studies minor and 40 percent said they would be likely to pursue graduate studies in art administration. The students surveyed were enrolled in art history and studio art classes.
DePauw President Mark McCoy ended his address to the faculty with Wilderson’s unveiling of the new University website pages to faculty members. He said the web pages that prospective students are more likely to look at will be rolled out first. The faculty was shown a new homepage, profile page and majors and minors page.
President McCoy said the new website will be rolled out soon, but he did not give a specific date. He also said the redesign inspiration came from the results of the Bartlett Research done in the spring 2017 semester. Last semester Bartlett conducted various focus groups and surveys aimed at finding DePauw’s identity. The new website will be an assemblage of what the research found.
The next faculty meeting will be on Nov. 6 at 4 p.m. in the conference room in the Student Union.