Resuming an effort that began last year, Washington University students have begun to push for the creation of a position that would coordinate education about and the prevention of sexual assault.

Last March, a resolution calling for the creation of an Office for the Prevention of Sexual and Relationship Violence that would coordinate prevention and education efforts across campus unanimously passed the Student Union (SU) Senate.

Over the summer, however, little progress was made in advocating for the resolution, largely because it was only sent to a limited number of administrators.

“I don’t recall receiving the resolution, but I

don’t think that at this point that’s important,” said James McLeod, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences.

In previous efforts to create administrative positions, including the creation of a LGBT Coordinator this year, McLeod was involved with the initial stages of discussion between students and administrators.

According to Carson Smith, the current speaker of the Senate, the resolution will be presented to administrators in the coming weeks to ensure that they have received a copy of it.

“Rather than just sending them a copy of the resolution, [now] there’s an effort to meet with them and talk about it,” said Paul Moinester, former SU president and current senator. “In order to properly explain [the resolution] and explain its needs, there needs to be a meeting.”

Eric Gradel, the SU speaker when the resolution was passed, could not be reached for comment.

The next step for students and administrators will be exploring what is the best way to meet the current needs on campus with regards to rape and sexual assault.

“We know that sexual assault is an issue in our community and in others and we accept responsibility as a community,” said McLeod. “This is not just an individual’s problem, this is our problem-it’s a question of what is the best way to move forward on this challenge.”

A 2004 survey by the Committee on Sexual Assualt (COSA) showed that more than one in five women and one in 10 men are survivors of attempted or completed rape before graduating Washington University. The same survey also showed that the vast majority of cases go unreported.

According to Jami Ake, Dean in the College of Arts & Sciences and committee co-chair, because the vast majority of sexual violence cases take place between acquaintances, victims are often hesitant to come forward or unsure of whom to approach.

“We had our February incident last year and we responded tremendously,” said Ake. “But, I think what that threw into relief is that there are a lot of people on campus who suffer sexual assault but don’t get those kinds of resources.”

If approved, the new administrator would work to develop protocol for campus-wide responses to emergencies, essentially centralizing the University’s response towards sexual violence on campus.

“This would be that one person who simultaneously knows how our faculty is being educated and trained as well as all the efforts of our all-student groups,” said Jeremy Thomas, co-director of One in Four, the all-male rape education group. “This would create the coordinator who could organize all of our efforts.”

Currently, multiple organizations play a role in addressing the problem of sexual assault and rape.

A number of student groups work to educate the campus community, working in concert with the University-wide Committee on Sexual Assault, University Police, Student Health Services and others to provide a comprehensive response to sexual assault and rape.

“We want to provide a coordinated response to every act of sexual assault,” said Ake. “We could do a better job at making resources visible, because a lot of the time you don’t know what resources there are until you need them.”

Despite the setback caused by three months of idleness, those involved in the efforts to create of this position remain hopeful.

“When student groups aren’t here for the summer, there isn’t going to be much progress made,” said graduate student Kristi Nigh, a member of COSA and one of the students involved with drafting the original resolution last year. “I think, though, that we’re in a really good place because the resolution was passed at the end of last year, and we’re starting off at the beginning of the year with a whole year in front of us.”

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