Interview conducted by Hannah Bevis
At the conclusion of North Central’s annual sexual assault awareness week, the Chronicle was able to sit down with Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Kimberly Sluis to talk about the importance of the week.
Q: What kind of involvement did you have getting the sexual assault awareness week together?
A: “All of the outside-of-class things that students participate in tend to report up through Student Affairs, so I wasn’t directly planning SAAW, but one of the things I’ve tried to do since getting in the dean of students’ role is to invest more energy and institutional resources in trying to create awareness and prevent sexual assault. Working with Cindy, working with the wellness center to try and move in this direction is something that has been a longer-term goal of ours.”
Q: Were you able to see or participate in any of the events that went on this week?
A: “Yes, I was able to stop by the flag display in Jefferson Plaza, and I think that’s a really powerful, even if you’re just passing by, reminder of just how prevalent this issue is. It can feel like something that’s really invisible, because people don’t necessarily walk around acknowledging that this is something that’s happened to them or somebody that they care about, so I think that that, for me, is a place that I always try to visit to be reminded of the scope of the issue, and the work both on the prevention that we need to do and the work that I think that we have tried very hard to do to create a culture where people come forward and report when something happens to them, so I make sure to visit there. And I also stopped by the clothesline project, [and]I see dozen of those in my time both before working in higher ed and since, and that is a really different, deeply personal experience where I think you get a glimpse of the lived experience of people who have really personal stories related to sexual violence and domestic violence that I think is also a reminder of the very humanness of what a week like [SAAW] is about.”
Q: You mentioned the difference between the flag display and clothesline display, and the other things that went on were a little different too, with presentations and discussions. Why do you think it’s important to have different kinds of events happening on during a week like this?
A: “I think, for one, it’s trying to meet different audiences, so the person who’s going to walk past and see something is different potentially than someone who’s going to come to a presentation or something more formal. So that in one way is important in trying to touch as many people as possible and again, generate awareness. But I also think you get different things out of those experience. So… for me, the flag project is really about scope, and the clothesline project is in some way about depth of experience, and I think each of the different events hits at something different that helps create a richer understanding of sexual assault and its impact.”
Q: Do you think there is a main message this is trying to send to students on campus, specifically?
A: “Well I think there’s a couple. One, I hope that part of the message is this isn’t tolerable. We as a community would say that violence of any kind is not tolerated here. The second thing I hope people take away from a week like that is when we stand in community, the likelihood that we prevent violence of any kind is greater, and the third I think is just about taking something that can sometimes feel like it lives in the shadow and bring it into the light. There’s not shame associated with being a survivor where people feel like there’s support, and quite honestly where it feels like something that’s real, in ways where if people haven’t had direct experience, sometimes they have a hard time wrapping their mind around it.”
Q: A lot of the people we’ve talked to this week have talked about how this brings awareness, Dr. Hammond mentioned how it was important to have a dialogue about this — what do you think is the next step forward? We’ve had the week, people maybe know a little more — what’s the next step for students and North Central?
A: “For me, this is an ongoing process. There were steps before SAAW and there will be steps afterwards, but based upon the research on bystander intervention, my hope is that we continue to be a community of active and engaged bystanders where people feel responsibility not only to not perpetrate violence, not only to people they love most and care about, but really feel a connection where this is just something that people don’t tolerate in this space. I have a lot of hope that an investment in that not only changes the nature and the dynamic of the community that we’re a part of at North Central, but I think that has the capacity to have the reach that impacts this issue on a much larger, wider community and global scale.”
Q: Are you seeing that impact in students on campus?
A: “I do see that impact. Sometimes it comes in the form of somebody saying or making a joke on “I’m going to Green Dot that” but in all seriousness, we do hear from students who have taken really brave and courageous steps to act when something feels funny, to take care of somebody, to check in with a friend, in ways I think are making a real difference. Early research on bystander intervention, early third-party research has come out on Green Dot and early indicators say that institutions that have strong bystander intervention programs have 50% rates lower for sexual violence. That’s not a small thing to me, and it’s work that will continue to need to be done until that’s 0, but until then my hope is that we’ll continue to think of this as our responsibility as a community.”
Q: If you could offer one piece of advice for students who may have gone through sexual assault or who have a friend who’s going through it, what would you say to them?
A: “I guess I have a bias here because I really believe in the work that our wellness center does, but I’d say talk to someone who’s an expert who can get you really good resources and help you explore all of your options. By options I mean what are your support options, what are your long-term care options, but also what are your actions regarding justice, both internal through the campus community and through police and jurisdiction wherever the crime happened. I think until people feel like they have access to somebody with whom to explore those things, the likelihood that people will come out on the other end feeling like they are empowered and have all the choices presented to them as well.”
