Colgate Hosts Panel to Discuss Sexual Violence Survey Results

The campus climate survey was distributed in partnership with the Higher Education Data Sharing (HEDS) Consortium in February.

Sixty-two percent of respondents said they were sexually assaulted during their first year.

April 09, 2019 Amy Rock Jump to Comments

On March 28, Colgate University students, faculty and staff hosted a panel to discuss the results of a sexual violence survey distributed in February.

The Hamilton, New York, school partnered with the Higher Education Data Sharing (HEDS) Consortium to administer its Sexual Assault Campus Climate Survey, according to Colgate Maroon-News. Students received a voluntary survey invitation that included a set of questions created by HEDS and additional open-ended opportunities to share personal experiences.

The survey asked students about their perceptions of Colgate’s climate for unwanted sexual contact and sexual assault, how often they have experienced unwanted sexual contact or sexual assault, and how the school responds to sexual assaults. The full results can be seen here.

The survey was last administered in 2015, leading to the creation of new resources for Colgate students, including the SANE program, Haven, the Sexual Assault Response Team and the Sexual and Intimate Partners Violence Coalition.

The panel, facilitated by Dawn LaFrance, Director of Counseling and Psychological Services and Haven, aimed to educate the community on sexual violence prevention and response services available on campus.

Susan Woolley, Associate Professor of Education Studies and Interim Director of Women’s Studies, said she was bothered by some of the survey data, including that 62% of respondents said they were sexually assaulted during their first year at Colgate.

To lower this statistic, Woolley suggested incorporating sexual violence education into orientation programs, required summer reading and First-Year Seminars (FSEMs).

“I think all FSEMs or professors, in general, should bring their classes to Haven or have [Program Coordinator of Haven Tracia Banuelos] come speak at their classes. I think that would be really helpful because no one knows about Haven really,” said first-year student Julia Sicklick.

Another first-year student, Nicole Weiss, said she greatly benefited from Haven as a survivor of sexual assault and received “an overwhelming amount of support” from the Colgate community.

“I made the right choice [by coming to Colgate],” she said.

Woolley also pointed out that 92% of students who were sexually assaulted did not report the incident and only 14.4% of students responded to the survey.

Senior Kate Bussey, a member of The Sexual Violence Coalition, said she thinks the silence can be attributed to the “intrinsically patriarchal environment on this campus.”

Junior Eli Cousin, an intern for Colgate’s Bystander Intervention, acknowledged his position and privilege as a white heterosexual male and wants to use that privilege to normalize the conversations of sexual violence on campus and the fact that it is not just a women’s issue.

“I’m looking out into the crowd and there’s really no male representation here, sadly,” he said. “The burden can’t solely be on women and survivors.”

Other findings from the survey include:

81.7% agreed or strongly agreed they feel safe on campus
36.9% disagreed or strongly disagreed campus officials would take action against an offender
88.4% know how to report an incident of sexual assault on campus
42.9% said they were sexually assaulted once on campus since starting at Colgate
- 31.7% said they were sexually assaulted twice
- 14.3% said they were sexually assaulted three times
- 4.8% said they were sexually assaulted four times
- 4.8% said they were sexually assaulted more than four times
90.5% of the perpetrators were male
55.6% of sexual assaults occurred on campus, in a dorm or other campus housing
36.5% said there were bystanders when they were sexually assaulted
- 60.9% said the bystander(s) did not intervene
88.9% told a close friend about their sexual assault
50% were satisfied with Colgate’s response to their report
- 25% were dissatisfied

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About the Author

Amy Rock, Executive Editor

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Amy is Campus Safety’s Executive Editor. Prior to joining the editorial team in 2017, she worked in both events and digital marketing.

Amy has many close relatives and friends who are teachers, motivating her to learn and share as much as she can about campus security. She has a minor in education and has worked with children in several capacities, further deepening her passion for keeping students safe.