Elizabeth Neyman (’15) is the new president of Sexual Assault Peer Advocates (SAPA). She fills us in on what this incredible organization has in store for the Emory community this academic year.
HerCampus Emory (HCE): What is SAPA’s main goal for this academic year?
Elizabeth Neyman (EN): SAPA’s main goal is to train as many students as possible. We’re getting all of ResLife staff trained in the coming week and student leaders throughout the year. We’re hoping that this is the year that SAPA can really cement its place in every student’s experience and became an instutionalized feature and resource on campus. We’re reaching out to faculty members with the aim to make the entire community, not just undergrads, survivor supportive. I want SAPA advocates to be able to talk about consent in their everyday lives; in SAPA we have something called “SAPA Advocate Mode,” and I hope that advocates can bring this way of thinking and talking into their day-to-day interactions and with their non-SAPA related activities. We want the Emory community to treat everyone as if they were a survivor because you can never know someone’s experience just by looking at them; everyone deserves to be treated with compassion and respect without having to divulge personal information.
HCE: We saw a LOT of SAPA activity on campus last year. What can we expect from the organization this year?
EN: You can expect a lot! SAPA has trained about 1,000 students in the last two years. We’re looking to create a real advocate community and use core facilitators as a way to welcome trainees into the community. Also, our Second Annual Bra Chain Campaign on October 23rd, as well as Take Back the Night (which is hosted by the Alliance for Sexual Assault Prevention) and our first ever faculty forum, in which we hope to open up a dialogue between students and faculty members on a variety of topics, but especially how to create a more survivor-supportive campus and eliminate rape culture. Another event that SAPA will be participating in is Sex Week, which is a new venture by a new, positive sexual health group that composed of students from the School of Public Health and Emory College. We haven’t outlined all the details yet but we’re really excited about having a week dedicated to safe and healthy consensual sex practices—there’s so much more to safe sex than just knowing about condoms and STI’s!
HCE: Why do you think this is a group that Emory needs?
EN: Emory needs SAPA because it needs a diverse group of students who are there to listen and to provide support based on what survivors say they need. Statistically, 1 in 4 women [a QUARTER] and 1 in 13-33 men will have experienced sexual assault by the end of their college career. As Emory students, it is our responsibility to support our friends and survivors in whatever way we can. Sexual assault affects everyone, everywhere, regardless of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic status. Fortunately at Emory, we have this amazing organization to support survivors and make Emory a better, healthier place.
HCE: How did you get involved with SAPA?
EN: As a freshman, I reached out to the Office of Health Promotion to get involved with the healthy sex initiative. I met with Lauren “LB” Bernstein and we shared horror stories from our Catholic school, abstinence-only experiences. She directed me to SAPA and I got trained and mentored by the co-founder Anushka Kapoor. I learned all about this amazing initiative to create a healthy, welcoming, supportive community full of compassion for those people who aren’t always heard.
HCE: When you’re not being an awesome president, what are you doing?
EN: I like to hike through the woods or go for a run! I feel really at peace in nature, so I spend a lot of time exploring Atlanta’s parks with my friends. I’ve been teaching my best friends how to swim for the past year as well. I’m passionate about social justice education and community building, so SAPA is a really great way for those interests to intersect. I like cookies [editor’s note: she does not like cookies more than Anusha Ravi or Ray Desautels—get SAPA trained to meet these awesome people and get cookies!]
HCE: How can people get involved in SAPA?
EN: There are lots of ways to get involved! Visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/emorysapa or follow us on Twitter @sapaemory. We also have a brand new website that we’re pretty excited about. You can find all of our information on trainings, survivor resources, and other advocate info at sapaemory.org. We have trainings throughout September and October. Click here to sign up for SAPA training!