This is the first in a three-part series on sexual assault at Dartmouth. Part two was published on May 3, and part three was published on May 6. Names with an asterisk have been changed to protect victim's identities.
Amid escalating national and campus concerns about sexual assault, students, faculty and administrators agree that it is one of the College's most critical issues. Discussion permeated campus during Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, yet, for many victims, sexual assault is felt in much more pervasive ways.
One victim said her experience during her freshman year continues to affect the classes she picks each term and the buildings she enters. Jane* asked to remain anonymous because her perpetrator becomes angry at her when she speaks publicly about her assault.
"I had to change my entire lifestyle because that's the type of life you have to face as a victim," she said.
Since the night when she said "no" to sex and was ignored, Jane has been harassed by her perpetrator, who spits when he sees her and makes violent comments. Jane said she never went through an adjudication process because she did not think people would believe her story.
"I know that that's what happened, and that's what matters," she said.
Because she decided not to report the incident, Jane's story is not included in the data on reported incidents of sexual assault at the College, as is the case with many victims.
THE NUMBERS
In 2011, the University of Pennsylvania had 16 reported cases and Princeton University and Yale University both had 20. Cornell University and Columbia University both had four reported cases, while Brown University had seven and Harvard University nine.
Like the data reported by other schools, Dartmouth's Clery Act numbers have fluctuated in recent years, ranging from a high of 23 in 2008 to a low of ten in 2009.
Nationwide, Sexual Assault Awareness Program coordinator Amanda Childress said the consensus among most advocates is that 80 percent of sexual assaults go unreported. A study conducted by the Department of Justice in 2000 put the rate at 95 percent.
According to a 2009 investigation by the Center for Public Integrity, the most often cited reason people do not report sexual assault is institutional barriers on campus, which include administrators who respond to victims with disbelief or other inappropriate behavior and different campus judiciary processes.
"I'm glad when our numbers are high, and most advocates in the field will tell you that we're glad when the numbers are high because this is an underreported crime," Childress said. "It's the most underreported crime in the country."
The College's two SAAP coordinators keep track of how many people they see each year for sexual assault cases, which Childress said numbered at about 80 in the last school year. This number includes friends and partners of victims, as well as those who experienced sexual assault outside of Dartmouth.
WISE, the Upper Valley's advocacy and support organization for victims of domestic and sexual violence, sees more than 1,000 people a year, assistant director Abby Tassel said.
"There is no doubt that the number of people we see from Dartmouth and the community in general is only the tip of the iceberg," she said.
PREVALENCE
Rachel agreed with her dean to take the fall term off and has since been on medical leave. She plans to transfer to another university and keeps close track of each prospective school's reported sexual assault numbers.
"I was looking up statistics for the schools I was going to apply to, and Dartmouth is a lot higher," Rachel said. "I realize one of the reasons they say that is that Dartmouth has a good reporting system, but I think that's BS."
Childress, however, said the College's higher numbers reflect a culture where discussion of sexual assault is common and victims feel more comfortable reporting. While many schools only begin to take initiatives to prevent sexual assault when faced with federal legal action, Childress said Dartmouth has been more proactive, starting a number of new initiatives under former College President Jim Yong Kim.
The close nature of Dartmouth's community may make assaults seem more prevalent because victims are less isolated from their perpetrators.
"It might feel like we have more assaults because our community is very small, so when one person is victimized the whole campus is connected to each other, so everyone feels it," Childress said.
Sexual Abuse Peer Advisor Ethan Klein '16 went through SAPA training because friends from home had been sexually assaulted. His goal is to help students feel safer on campus.
"Any school has [these problems], but I would like to try to fix them where I am," Klein said. "I don't feel like the claims that we are doing better than other schools or that other schools are doing worse are any sort of excuse."
William Scheiman '14, chair of the Student and Presidential Committee on Sexual Assault, agreed more reports of sexual assault do not necessarily correlate to a higher number of cases overall, but said this does not mean the College should become complacent.
"I don't think I would be able to say that it's any worse at Dartmouth than at any other school, but I don't think there's any reason we shouldn't hold ourselves to a higher standard," he said.
PREVENTION AND RESOURCES
"It didn't seem like it could be a real thing, especially at a place like Dartmouth, where everyone is so friendly and smart," Womick said.
Through Bored at Baker, Womick reaches out to students who post, often anonymously, that they have been sexually assaulted or raped. While she is not involved with any official organizations, Womick offers to listen to these students' stories and passes on information about campus resources.
Womick often talks with the victims anonymously, as it can be easier for them to speak with someone they do not know personally. For Womick, talking with people about campus resources has helped her cope with her own experience.
Many campus advocacy and counseling organizations are run through SAAP, where coordinators Childress and Rebekah Carrow provide support, educational training and strategic planning. As part of the SAAP program, SAPAs work as trained student advisors to peers who have been affected by sexual assault. Mentors Against Violence and Sexperts support students on issues surrounding violence and consent.
Dick's House offers the counseling and human development program, which provides psychological services to students on sexual assault and other issues. WISE connects students to therapy and other Upper Valley resources, in addition to advocacy on behalf of survivors.
Campus committees include the SPCSA, which connects students to administrators working on sexual assault initiatives and hosts an annual symposium, and the Committee on Standards and Sexual Assault. Though it had become inactive in the fall, COSSA is currently meeting and preparing a report, co-chair and biology professor Robert McClung said.
Students also sit on the Committee on Standards, responsible for adjucating sexual assault-related cases and others.
Despite available resources like SAPAs, professional counselors and advocacy groups, it is survivors who choose whether they want support.
Stuart Allan '14, who dated a survivor soon after she was violently raped at a fraternity, said campus counseling services are not proactive enough in reaching out to known survivors. At the time, his girlfriend chose not to seek help when she needed it and the College did not offer its support even though it was aware of the incident.
"I think there should be more comprehensive care," Allan said. "I don't think you can expect people who went through trauma to necessarily make rational decisions that are best for their health."
Rachel needed counseling after she was raped and attempted to meet a with Dick's House counselor, but found it difficult to get an appointment. She was not offered a female counselor, even though she specifically asked for one.
"Dartmouth really sucks at dealing with this," she said. "They assigned me to a therapist there, but it was a guy, and they didn't understand why I didn't want to be in a locked room with a guy."
Dick's House counseling resources would benefit from a group therapy program for victims, Rachel said.
As a SAPA and SAAP intern, Maya Johnson '14 provides advice to survivors on a peer-to-peer basis, but said many she has met with were either friends or were referred through a friend. Jane, also a SAPA, said she has a similar experience.
"I was really excited going into the training and excited to help other girls like me, but for the longest time no one came to me," she said. "I'm guessing that people aren't willing to go up to a stranger based on the fact that she's a SAPA, and just start talking."
Amanda Wheelock '14, an assault survivor, suggested that the College place a stronger emphasis on issues of consent and sexual assault in its orientation programming.
"Number one is making sure that every student on this campus knows what consent is," she said. "I know that what freshmen do during Orientation has changed since I was a freshman, but like I said, I didn't know what consent really meant myself until sophomore or junior year."
While Dartmouth offered several assault-related programs in April, Jane said the attendees were not the people who needed to hear the message most. After heightened conversations about sexual assault following the Dimensions protest, she heard a male friend claim that there was no rape on campus.
"It's very much the same insular group having the conversation, and maybe that could lead to that cry falling on deaf ears," she said.
In addition to campus resources and policies, continued conversation has the power to foster change on campus, Wheelock said.
"The fact that anybody would have to go through what I went through and what other survivors went through is frightening at some level," she said. "It's something that really rips our community apart. Now that people are talking about this stuff finally, maybe something will start to change"
