As the newest Interpersonal Violence Prevention Coordinator for Speak Up Bucknell, Rachel Stewart has already established herself as an incredibly important figure on campus. An advocate of diversity, sexual violence prevention, and social justice, she is an extremely welcome addition to the Bucknell community.
1. What sparked your interest in sexual violence prevention/social justice in general?
My first year of college at the University of Connecticut, I started taking courses on topics of gender and sexuality, which led me to get a job with the Violence Against Women Prevention Program, which is very similar to Speak Up Bucknell, and I started giving workshops about sexual violence, bystander intervention, and consent. Getting involved with VAWPP really opened my eyes to how pervasive and devastating sexual violence can be. Throughout college I remained active with that program, and I started a new student organization called Revolution Against Rape, which definitely deepened my interest and resolve to work on preventing sexual violence. I knew that I wanted to pursue sexual violence prevention work on a college campus, so after college, I got my master’s degree in higher education so that I could tailor my knowledge and experiences to college students.
2. Describe your involvement in Speak Up Bucknell.
As the Interpersonal Violence Prevention Coordinator, overseeing Speak Up Bucknell is one of my main responsibilities. I provide the training for the Speak Up Bucknell Peers, and maintain oversight of the program—I help make sure that we’re meeting and exceeding federal guidelines for prevention education (such as those put forth by Title IX and the Campus SaVE Act), I make sure that our initiatives are informed by the most recent research and best practices, I analyze the data collected about our programs, and I help guide the Speak Up Peers as they plan and develop new initiatives. The Peers are definitely the heart and soul of Speak Up, but I use my experience and expertise to guide them, as well as to serve as a liaison to other organizations and departments on campus.
3. In what ways have you seen Speak Up Bucknell directly shape campus culture?
I’m still fairly new to Bucknell (I’ve only been working here a few months!) so I’m constantly learning more about the campus culture, but the fact that Speak Up seems to be a familiar name to most people on campus is a feat in and of itself. The Speak Up Peers are such incredible leaders on campus, and they bring their impact to everything else they’re involved with—their classes, their research, their organizations, their athletic teams. We have trained Fraternity and Sorority Allies in nearly every chapter on campus, too, which is awesome. Having people who are trained and educated and aware in so many different spaces on campus, who can be sources of knowledge and support for their peers, goes an incredibly long way in creating an atmosphere where we can talk about sexual violence, and where victims and survivors can reach out and get the help they might need.
Also, having been to close to a dozen Take Back the Nights or other similar events at several different schools, I can tell you that Bucknell’s turnout for Take Back the Night this past year is something that most other institutions can’t even come close to—and I think that speaks to just how much awareness there is about issues of sexual violence, and the number of people who want to support survivors.
4. How can Bucknell students become more active participants in the fight against sexual violence?
I think one of the first things any person can do is educate themselves—whether that’s attending a Speak Up workshop, an event like Take Back the Night, taking a Women’s and Gender Studies course, seeking out more information online, or talking about these issues with your friends, peers, family, or professors. We live in a culture where sexism, rape culture, and unhealthy attitudes about sex or relationships manifest on a number of levels, so I think it’s important for every person to learn more and make an effort to address these attitudes when they encounter them in their own life. Sexual violence is a complicated, multifaceted, and pervasive issue, but there are so many things you can to fight it, and there are so many resources out there to help you! Addressing everyday language is just as important as stepping in when you see someone who is uncomfortable or intervening when you suspect something is going on.
And of course, joining Speak Up is a great way to become more active, too! We really make an effort to learn more about these issues and how to address them. It’s an ongoing process and there’s always more that we can learn and do, but we support and teach each other along the way.
5. Where do you see Speak Up Bucknell headed in the future?
I really hope to see Speak Up Bucknell continue to expand! We’re actively looking to find new and engaging ways to educate the campus and raise awareness—this semester, we’re developing a new workshop on healthy relationships, as well as holding a new awareness program called the Red Flag Campaign. The Red Flag Campaign encourages all of us to be more aware of the ‘red flags’ that signal that a relationship might be unhealthy or abusive. Down the line, we’re also looking to create more opportunities to educate and inform the entire campus community—especially through offering more events and workshops on a variety of topics. I’m personally interested in providing more education about consent, and talking about the way that TV and movies portray relationships and sexual communication.
Quick questions:
Downtown Lewisburg restaurant of choice: I’m still exploring, but right now it’s Amami!
Favorite spot on campus: You can catch me in the middle of the Academic Quad trying to Instagram pictures of the sunset probably more often than I should admit…
Little-known fact: When I was 14, I was in an Adidas commercial to advertise the 2006 FIFA World Cup soccer ball!