Washington University to survey campus climate on sexual assault

| Staff Reporter

Washington University is set to administer the 2019 Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault & Sexual Misconduct, which opens March 5.

The survey, administered through the Association of American Universities (AAU), is designed to gauge the prevalence of sexual violence on college campuses, as well as student perception of available support services.

When the survey opens, students will receive an email with an external link to participate. Individual survey responses are confidential, and students will be able to take the survey until it closes April 3.

This year’s survey is the AAU’s follow-up to the 2015 Campus Climate survey, in which the University also participated. According to Provost Holden Thorp, the results from the 2015 survey helped influence administration to implement services related to sexual violence on campus.

“The survey has contributed to a lot of the changes that we’ve seen,” Thorp said. He noted the University’s decision to hire a private investigator for Title IX cases.

Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Lori White said that the 2015 survey results were useful because they revealed patterns in the campus’ sexual assault and harassment incidents that influenced outreach efforts to impacted groups.

“Underrepresented and marginalized students were more likely to be sexually assaulted, at least based on those who responded to the survey, and were less likely to seek services,” White said. “So, we have continued to think about ways in which we can outreach more intentionally to marginalized student populations.”

Thorp believes the survey is beneficial because it is one of the easiest ways to get direct feedback from a multitude of students.

“The administration gets input about [sexual assault] from different sources, mostly from advocates who are very interested in this and staff who see the process, but the survey is the way for us to hear from the most students,” Thorp said. “By participating, students can ensure that a large number of voices are heard.”

Junior Nicholas Kinberg, spokesperson for the Title Mine logistics team, encourages as many students as possible to take the survey in order to reflect an accurate view of the student body.

“Take the survey so that organizations like Title Mine can do a better job improving the campus and student experience as well as making Title IX policy more equitable to all students,” Kinberg said. “If we know which groups are suffering and we know which groups are perpetrating, we can better amend our policies so that we counteract problems like that.”

White also maintained that beyond the survey, the University needs to make the issue of campus sexual assault an ongoing priority.

“The University needs to make continuous efforts towards [recognizing sexual assault on campus],” White said.

White noted the University’s contribution of $500,000 towards education and training to enhance survivor support, as well as the formation of an advisory committee to listen to student feedback on issues related to Title IX.

“I think we’ve made some great strides, but there’s always more that we can do,” White said.

Sign up for the email edition

Stay up to date with everything happening at Washington University and beyond.

Subscribe