Two weeks ago, the campus was sent an email from the Chief of Police.
It read as follows:
To the Davidson College Community,
When a crime has been reported and the nature of the reported crime creates a possible serious or continuing threat to the campus community, the College issues a Safety Alert so the campus community can take appropriate personal safety steps. Examples include but are not limited to a crime against person, such as robbery, aggravated assault, sexual assault, or a pattern of property crimes.
The College received a report on Tuesday, August 23, 2016 that a female student has been sexually assaulted by an individual who is known to her. She reported that the assault occurred on campus sometime in the early morning hours of Sunday, August 21, 2016. The incident is currently under investigation by the College.
When we talk about sexual assault it is important to be clear that the responsibility for the assault lies with the perpetrator. As we move forward, however, it’s important to focus on the things that we can all do to keep ourselves and others safe.
As individuals we can:
· Call Campus Police, available 24 hours a day, (704) 609-0344.
· Trust our intuition and don’t hesitate to call for help if we’re feeling uneasy.
As community members witnessing a dangerous situation, we can:
· Call Campus Police or someone else in authority.
· Tell another person we trust. Being with others is a good idea when a situation looks dangerous.
· Yell for help.
· Remember that perpetrators often target people who are incapacitated.
This message constitutes a Timely Warning pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Act.
Davidson College Campus Police 704-894-2178
For those who haven’t been at Davidson or any college campus, this is what we call a Timely Warning. The verbiage has changed over the years (s/o to Chief Sigler for being really open to both preparing all students to be responsible and safe while trying to avoid shunting the responsibility for assault away from the assaulter), but the basic message of a Timely Warning is that campus police believe that there is an ongoing threat to the campus at large.
Don’t freak.
Honestly, there’s always a threat to the campus at large regarding sexual assault. There is a lot of predatory behavior that goes down here: gender related, age related, intoxication related, intimate relationship related, and a whole bunch of things that we all interpret differently both internally, as we deal, and externally as people create their own opinions of various stories. Most of us live at Davidson; we party here, we study here, we mess around and mess up here, we sleep and eat and do everything here. That means we’re a really small, really closely related community, which can present problems and support.
It can be really hard to determine if what happened was “even sexual assault.” If you’re struggling to figure that out, talk to some friends you trust, talk to Georgia Ringle or the health advisors, hit up the counseling center or the Dean’s office. Talking to different people can set off different actions as different roles on campus are legally required to report various levels of things. For more information check the following poster:
If you’re pretty sure you know what happened AND you decide you would like to take some action against the person who assaulted you, you can either go through the college’s disciplinary system or the state’s legal system. There are benefits and drawbacks to each, and I would recommend talking to someone you trust to help you figure out which is the best option for you. Maybe right now, not reporting is the best option. That’s chill. There are also emotional support options on campus like the survivor support group (contact geringle@davidson.edu for more info) that is entirely confidential and open to anyone who feels they’ve been assaulted. No pressure, no expectations (except confidentiality).
My only caveat to the “do what is best for you” advice is that, if you have any physical evidence of the assault, I would recommend at least reporting so that such things can be gathered. That process can be emotionally draining and really difficult, so be sure to find someone who can provide both emotional and logistical support (someone who can drive you and hold your hand and more).
If you have friends that you are concerned about–either they are the ones engaging in some weird predatory behavior or they have been on the receiving end, there is support for you too. If you’re not comfortable calling your friends out, then figure out other ways to disengage them from problematic situations. You don’t have to yell at them in the middle of a party for trying to convince a somewhat sloppy person to go back to their room; telling them you need to talk about that Panthers game last weekend wayyy over in the other corner far away also works. Or pretend you’re best friends with the person who’s on the receiving end of such attentions. Chances are high they’ll take you up on the chance to peace out from the conversation, and if they don’t, that’s also fine and they probably won’t even think twice about it later.
Secondary survivorhood is different; it’s when you’re the primary support person for the immediate survivor of assault. It’s just as important to care for yourself and advocate for your needs in your own life as you help your friend deal with the fallout.
A lot of this might seem really intuitive, but you don’t want to be left wondering what to do in the moment, because that’s the exact moment you’re going to want to do the least amount of work to address various facets of assault. We are all Davidson students, and we operate under some extremely intense and stressful conditions. It’s only natural to want to go out and lose yourself through a variety of means, but take care of yourselves, take care of each other, and don’t be afraid to interject when you see something you think is weird (and if you can’t do it, find someone to do it with you or for you).
If you are interested in writing an article for Her Campus Davidson, contact us at davidson@hercampus.com or come to our weekly meeting Tuesday at 8pm in the Morcott Room.