By Daniel Brogan, Kayla Schneider, and Sarah Donahue
As actively engaged students of St. Michael’s College, we feel a need to address recent changes to the Center for Women and Gender (CWG).
We recognize and understand the college’s current need to reduce spending. However, we feel that the recent reduction of staff has negatively affected the college’s ability to help some of the more vulnerable students on campus, during this time of transition. The lack of communication and clarity regarding the Center’s new operating status and future is of great concern to our community.
As a school that aims to celebrate and support diversity, the maintenance of CWG should be a priority. The lack of support for students is glaring. The current staff is overworked, and cannot provide the same programming and support as in years past. They do not have the resources to create adequate, inclusive, and effective programming as well as provide emotional support for women and members of the LGBTQ community. Micalee Sullivan, the former Coordinator for the CWG played an integral role in empowering marginalized members of our community, including women of color, survivors of sexual assault, as well as transgender students.
The current decisions to cut staff and reduce hours that CWG is open are short-sighted. These decisions reduce the college’s ability to compete with other schools in the area that provide outstanding support through their centers for women and gender. The absence of a trained Coordinator also invalidates the history of women, LGBTQ people, women of color, and transgender students on this campus. As a community, we should not forget our history, and CWG stands as a testament to our history as forward-thinking campus.
The Center for Women and Gender is a place where all students feel accepted, loved, and empowered. The Center for Women and Gender is a safe haven for students on our campus; it is something that stands out and is admirable about Saint Michael’s College. That being said, our school needs to do a better job of making this space accessible for students. It is frequently locked and is only open four days a week — Monday through Thursday. In addition to it being more accessible, the CWG needs to be a place where students feel they can go talk to someone who is fully trained when they are facing a problem or dealing with a traumatic situation.
Currently, the only people working in the Center for Women in Gender during the day are work-study students along with a new program coordinator who is not certified in supporting sexual assault survivors. We need a professional who has experience dealing with the trauma of sexual violence, sexual harassment, and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
In addition to this person being a professional, the person working in the center needs someone who is not going to have a temporary position. This way, life-long bonds can be formed between students and staff. Consistency is a necessity. Having someone working in this center full-time will provide students with a source of comfort, familiarity, and trust with a specialist, which reflect our school’s mission for the steadfast commitment of supporting our community.
Previously, the CWG had been an inclusive institution that created programming events that embodied the mission and vision of our community. Last year, the CWG hosted world renowned artist and political activist Zanele Muholi, in which Muholi’s “Faces & Phases” exhibit was brought to campus. Zanele Muholi also came to our campus to discuss her work and activism while workshops were also offered. The entire event was also supported by the Vanderheyden Endowment for the Fine Arts to which the CWG was able to successfully bring together students, faculty, and other members of the community to connect and grow together through art and empowerment.
The CWG has always been a source of community building for all members of the community and with the recent decision made by the school, the CWG capabilities have been stymied with budget cuts and staff reduction. When we experience the loss of support mechanisms for marginalized students, we should ask ourselves the following questions: What is the cost of marginalized students losing a space and staff who support and empower? What is the cost of not providing students who have experienced sexual assault a place where they can feel safe and acknowledged? What is the cost of our community?
According to both Title IX and the US Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, every college within the country must provide students with accommodations pertaining to sexual assault, including counseling and support services. Prior to the funding being significantly reduced for the Center for Women & Gender, Micalee Sullivan, and other former coordinators were formerly specialized in sexual survivor counseling for students on campus. This provided students with the right to cope and heal with confidentiality in a safe environment with a trained staff member.
Since the untimely removal of Sullivan’s position at St. Michael’s College, sexual assault survivors only have one on campus resource for counseling at the Bergeron Wellness Center, where there is currently not a counselor who is specialized in the field of sexual assault and/or domestic violence.
It is also imperative to recognize that the University of Vermont offers sexual assault counseling at their Women’s Center. Though it is important to acknowledge that there is no easy decision with program cutting in regards to the recent financial deficits the college has incurred, it however seems counterintuitive and damaging to the community, when the school determines that having a staff member who acted as a vital resource for students who have experienced sexual trauma be eliminated from the budget.
Regardless of the school’s intention, cutting a staff member who provided students with a space to speak confidentially about sexual assault sends a deeply concerning message to the student body: The school has promulgated that having a specially trained staff member who can assist students in healing with their sexual trauma is an expense that is considered extraneous and not necessary to the wellbeing of our community.
We implore the administration of Saint Michael’s College to reconsider its current reduction in the staffing and budget for the Center for Women and Gender. It is understood that our school is downsizing in anticipation of the declining population of students within New England, but we believe that there are potential ways that we can work in tandem as a community to mediate our concerns with providing support and counselling for all of our students.
We, the authors of this open letter, have provided potential solutions that we hope to work with all stakeholders on achieving:
• Hire a staff member who is specially trained in working with students who are survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.
• Work with outside community resources such as HopeWorks or Steps to End Domestic Violence to have a counsellor who could have designated hours of service at the Center for Women and Gender.
• Apply for a Federal Grant, such as the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women, to fund staffing for a Center for Women & Gender Coordinator.
• Create a timeline to reinstate and/or train a staff member in sexual assault counselling and support.
• Ensure that any replacement staff has prior experience in working with women of color, and the LGBTQ community.
• Train a Title IX Deputy to assume the responsibility of providing support and on campus counselling for sexual assault survivors.
Daniel Brogan ’18 is a Secondary Education & Political Science double major who is involved with Feminists for Equality, Peace & Justice, Student Association, the Roosevelt Institute, and the Campaign for a Presidential Youth Council.
Kayla Schneider ’19 is a Political Science major with a minor in Gender Studies. On campus Kayla is involved in Active Minds, The Feminist Club, SGAC, The Peace and Justice Club, and Campus Ministry.
Sarah Donahue ’18 is a Spanish and American Studies major who values the Humanities.