Educator and curriculum developer Gail Stern stood in front of a photo of a Venn Diagram, one circle labeled "rape" and the other "things that are funny." The two circles did not overlap.
Stern, who co-authored the non-stranger rape prevention program "Sex Signals" and serves as Catharsis Productions chief academic officer,kicked off the Dartmouth Summit on Sexual Assault on Sunday night, preceded by remarks from Dean of the College Charlotte Johnson and Rep. Ann McLane Kuster '78 (D-N.H.). A full Spaulding Audience auditorium was packed with representatives from more than 60 institutions as well as higher education journalists covering the event.
Stern presented on what jokes about rape signal about broader culture. This type of humor and the negative cultural norms it perpetuates, Stern said, can lead to sexual violence.
Stern pointed out that rape and gender jokes tend to be about dominance, power and putting someone in their place.Using anecdotes interjected with theory, Stern asked the audience questions and drew laughs during her presentation.
Toward the end, Stern displayed a picture of a Jenga tower and compared it to rape culture in society.
“We nibble around the edges because the whole thing, we don’t want to give up,” she said.
Stern listed examples of rape culture in college fraternities. At an Amherst College fraternity house, she said, apparel portrayed a woman tied up and roasting like an animal, and members of a Yale University fraternity sang songs about taking advantage of women.
Institutions should encourage faculty members to study and implement curricula to prevent sexual violence, Stern said. This programming, she said, will push students to think critically and analyze such issues.
Johnson noted in her remarks that the institutions represented share a common commitment to the well-being of their students, supporting their ability to thrive on campus.
Kuster, who graduated from Dartmouth just six years after the institution began accepting women, called sexual assault "a problem that can and must be solved."
The environment in which men and women interact on Dartmouth's campus is of personal interest to her and her family, as both she and her two sons attended the College. Sexual violence is also an issue of great national importance, she said, and the summit will look at the problem as a national issue, rather than solely an issue at Dartmouth.
Kuster said she believes Dartmouth has made "good progress" and cited College President Phil Hanlon's commitment to the issue.
The summit's plenary sessions will convene from July 13 to 15. Working group sessions will be held July 16 to 17. Hanlon will speak tomorrow morning.
