An Alumna’s Reaction to the Amherst Sexual Violence Report: More Activism Needed

Amanda Villarreal – AAUW Policy Intern, Fall 2012

Last October, I wrote an AAUW blog post on sexual assault and possible Title IX violations at my alma mater, Amherst College, that made the case for online activism to draw attention to the issue. My post reacted to a former student’s published account of rape at the college and her charges that the administration mishandled her case, as well as the swift, national response that ensued. Four months later, Amherst’s newly formed Special Oversight Committee on Sexual Misconduct issued a 55-page report, Toward a Culture of Respect: The Problem of Sexual Misconduct at Amherst College. The report made recommendations including redoubled efforts to build an equitable and inclusive community that promotes respect, better coordination and communication within student affairs, and better crisis management and adoption of clear and transparent personnel protocols.

I admire my alma mater’s efforts, yet the report leaves room for improvement. I agree with Dana Bolger, an Amherst student activist, who critiqued the report’s treatment of rape as an inexplicable and random event, like a natural disaster. The administration failed, she says, to draft a direct plan of action that explicitly confronts Amherst’s real sexist, misogynist, and patriarchal structures that perpetuate such violence. I believe that these structures within the Amherst culture must be explored and dismantled, though it will take a committed effort by the entire Amherst community — administration, students, and alumni alike. I believe Amherst will become what we make it become. Purposeful activism will make it so.

In an effort to follow this belief, I began to coordinate a new, women’s support initiative last fall as an alumna: The Amherst Women’s Network. I was pleasantly surprised to find the report mention it (page 27) and our mission and recommend that the college should “strongly support initiatives of this kind.” Structural support to bring women together, to encourage one another into leadership positions, and to empathize with our shared experiences will foster female solidarity. From here, we can create a stronger platform from which to rally around issues such as sexual violence, and other products of sexism and discrimination, we encounter in our communities. Efforts to empower the affected group in these matters at Amherst — and in broader society — form one of the surest paths to prevention. Amherst’s encouragement of the Amherst Women’s Network gives me hope that Amherst is starting to get it, and will expand its encouragement to men’s and other initiatives that actively combat the roots of social intolerance and subjugation.

I believe in my school and its potential to grow from its past wrongs. I am excited to see where this transformative energy takes us toward securing everyone in the Amherst community an inclusive and safer undergraduate experience. I encourage everyone to educate themselves on students’ perspectives of problems like sexual violence and assault on college campuses like Amherst, perspectives I believe measure the true progress institutions make. I also hope you’ll help in these efforts by sharing this post and encouraging college administrations to encourage women’s leadership and women-focused initiatives on campuses.

If you have questions about the Amherst Women’s Network or would like to become involved, please e-mail amherstwomensnetwork@gmail.com.