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05:40 PM EST on Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Associated Press & WVEC.com

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (AP) -- Officials at the College of William and Mary are launching new programs and will hire a full-time sexual assault coordinator in a renewed effort to combat sexual assault.

Gene Nichol, president of the Williamsburg school, says the initiatives were taken in response to events last week about anonymous fliers that had been posted around campus. They tauted a student who had accused a fellow student of sexual assault after a sexual encounter at a sorority party in a Charles City County home in October. The scandal triggered a rape charge and a $5.5 million defamation lawsuit.

In an email sent to students, Nichol also gave information about the latest sexual assault on campus, which he said occurred last Tuesday night at a fraternity house.

A Charles City prosecutor withdrew the rape charge this month against former William and Mary student Patrick Decker, and then Decker filed the defamation suit.

NEW INITIATIVES:

As many of you know, we have spent a good deal of time in recent weeks exploring ways to improve our education and response efforts concerning sexual assault. For both of us, this issue has become deeply personal and our resolve to do all we can has only been strengthened by the events of the past semester. Sexual assault often exists in the shadows of our experience. We hope to shine a brighter light on it. We know the conversation will not be easy. We recognize, as well, that an increased focus may result in more reports of assault. That shouldn’t deter us. 

While we don’t need another reminder of the importance of efforts to combat sexual assault, we already have one, hough the semester is only a few days old. An undergraduate woman has reported that she was sexually assaulted last week by a fellow student who has been a friend for some time. She indicated the incident occurred in the male student’s room in the fraternity complex last Tuesday night.

 We have asked for your ideas and suggestions. We have also sought assistance from faculty, staff and experts in the field. Your thoughts have been helpful and your confidence in many of the programs we already have underway has been heartening. You have given our staff high marks for the protocol they follow when a report of assault is made, for the way they respond to victims, and for the quality of counseling they provide.

Programs like One in Four, Every Two Minutes, and RAD have also been singled out. But, with your help, we have identified new strategies to help us expand our reach.

First, we’ll explain what we intend to do. What we do, however, will not solve this wrenching problem. It is what you do that matters most. We’ll talk about that as well.

We will add the following to our existing program:

-We will hire a full-time sexual assault educator to work under the supervision of Dr. Donna Haygood-Jackson, our sexual assault response coordinator.

-We will substantially increase our use of peer-to-peer programming, Including that developed by One in Four and Every Two Minutes. It seems clear that these efforts offer the most effective means to reach the student community. [We have both benefited from such training.] Our new sexual assault educator will develop initiatives to supplement the mandatory program already in place for entering freshmen. New efforts for upper-class students and organizations will be initiated as well.

-A new mandatory sexual assault program will be created for entering transfer students. Programs addressed to the needs and concerns of graduate and professional students will be instituted.

- We will offer training and information to faculty and staff to help them assist students seeking advice and support.

-An initiative is being launched to identify ways to take full advantage of technology to reach students more effectively, exploring on-line programs, interactive web sites, streaming video, and the like.  

-A peer advocacy program will be developed this semester to provide yet another way to offer immediate personal assistance to victims of sexual assault. Peer advocates will help victims understand their options, both on and off campus, and will be available to accompany students to appointments with medical personnel, police, college administrators, counselors and court personnel.

-An application has been submitted by the head of campus police seeking funding to employ an officer specifically trained in sexual assault investigation and response. The grant also requests support for on-going training of our entire police staff as well as for law enforcement officials and health care providers in the community.

-A national touring company will bring the acclaimed program, Sex Signals , to campus on February 28 to assist our dialogue about sexual assault. The Inter-Sorority Council and the Council of Fraternity Affairs will co-host the program. 

These new efforts reflect our intention to provide the best, most comprehensive education and response strategies possible. We will also continue to re-examine our practices, strengthening them as better alternatives emerge. Our commitment is to do all we can.  

The truth is, though, no program the College develops will end sexual assault. That is so, of course, because these tragedies are rooted in personal responsibility. It is exceedingly rare for a William and Mary student to be raped by a stranger. It is almost as rare for an assault to occur in circumstances not entailing the substantial misuse of alcohol by one or both parties. Sadly, most sexual assaults on this campus occur between young women and men who know one another -- in some cases for long periods of time. Regardless of circumstance, the traumas all have one thing in common -- they are intolerable.  

The injury resulting from assault is widespread. It harms the students involved, dramatically altering and diminishing their lives. It harms their friends, inflicting less direct wounds of heart and soul. And it harms the College, sowing fear and mistrust where care and community ought to reside. You are extraordinarily able students. It is heartbreaking to see young men and women of such promise make decisions (concerning alcohol, concerning sexual behavior, and even concerning intervention with your friends) that have such devastating consequences. 

We share a remarkable sense of attachment at this College. That commitment demands that we all do our part to end sexual violence. All of us must examine our own choices and behaviors. All of us should resolve to watch out for one another, as well. We’ll do all within our power to foster a campus culture that supports your efforts.

Gene Nichol & Sam Sadler

 (Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)