In a break from previous years, members of the Class of 2014 will learn about sexual assault and preventions from two actors in an interactive, improvisational comedy. This week, Dartmouth will follow the lead of Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and several other colleges in the use of the "Sex Signals" program as part of New Student Orientation.
While past sexual assault and prevention programs have been co-facilitated by student organizations, such as the Sexual Assault Peer Advisors and Mentors Against Violence, the Sex Signals program will be a joint effort between Greek Letter Organizations and Societies, Safety and Security, Health Services and the Office of Pluralism and Leadership, according to Kristin Baxivanos, the interim Sexual Abuse Awareness Program coordinator.
"I think the students in the class are going to have an opportunity to think in different ways about what consent means and how students can take care of and protect each other," special assistant to the Dean of the College Katherine Burke said.
Administrators at Harvard and MIT said the program has been a success in their experience.
"We've been using Sex Signals for many years," Katie Steele, Harvard's director for freshman programming, said. "This company does a really good job at getting conversation going and getting a message across in a way that we think students will listen to and be able to relate to."
The play combines improvisation and audience interaction to examine how "social pressures, unrealistic fantasies, power inequity and false preconceptions of the other sex" lead to problems in dating and possibly sexual assault, according to the program's website.
"It's informative, interactive and there's [a question and answer session,]" Dan Chapman, assistant director of orientation at MIT, said. "It's actors talking about real issues and getting students involved."
The actors involved in the play spend time learning about individual schools' social scenes, specific concerns and even the campus "lingo" before each performance, according to Chapman.
"The director of Sex Signals and the two specific presenters have spoken with College staff and students," Baxivanos said. "We've been talking about the language and the social scenes specific to Dartmouth, some of our concerns and how Sex Signals can best accommodate Dartmouth's uniqueness."
Feedback from both MIT and Harvard has been very positive, according to administrators.
"With orientation programming, you can't always get everyone to come because nothing is really mandatory, but this year we had about 85 percent attendance at the show," Chapman said.
Chapman praised the program for addressing serious topics of sexual assault and prevention in ways that are "not overwhelming" to students from different cultural backgrounds.
"A lot of people have been educated on these topics in the past at the high school level, and I think people appreciate the level of conversation that Sex Signals generates," Steele said. "People are treated like adults in this conversation."
The program is expected to "set the stage" for continued sexual assault prevention programming and dialogue throughout the year, according to Burke. In the weeks following the performance, Dartmouth students will participate in discussion groups led by trained upperclassmen to continue conversations on topics introduced during the show, Baxivanos said.
"The message coming from the President's office and from the Dean of the College is that this is a really positive experience and a great way to educate yourself," Baxivanos said.
The program has received positive feedback from students involved with sexual assault prevention.
"We're really excited about the Sex Signals performance," SAPA and Sexpert Mina Beveney '11, said. "We hope it will be an effective and more fun way to talk about sex and dating at Dartmouth."
