On Oct. 29, Survivors Making Activism and Radical Transformation (SMART) created an art installation on Martin’s Way as part of their efforts to support survivors of sexual assault on campus and beyond. In creating the event, the student-run organization drew a chalk outline of a body along the walkway outside of the Sadove Student Center and the Howard Diner for each victim in the recent release of Hamilton’s Clery Report on the number of reported sexual assaults on campus.
The installation coincided with the release of the report, and, according to SMART representative Kahterine Crasta ’21, group members felt that “the timing was right to do some type of activist project” and to bring community awareness to the details of the Clery Act.
The Clery Act is a federal law that requires college campuses to release data and statistics about on-campus safety, including Title IX reports. According to Director of Community Standards Catherine Berryman, this report includes information about reports of certain types of sexual crimes (rape, statutory rape, fondling, and incest) and domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking reported in the previous calendar year.
Crasta says a specific goal of the installation was to help students understand the contents of the Clery Act and the “prevalence of rape on this campus.” SMART wanted to help raise awareness about the issue of sexual assault on campus with a high-visibility event. According to Crasta, SMART organization leadership “came up with the idea, created the posters and flyers, and outlined the bodies [themselves]” early that morning so that campus would see the artwork as they began their day.
Crasta says SMART members think the installation was successful because they “achieved [their] main goal of garnering attention around the issue of rape and sexual assault on this campus.”
Another SMART member, who preferred to go unnamed, said, “The amount of support we got from the student body was incredible […] Many people posted about the art installation on social media, and previous alums and members of SMART reached out to show their support as well.”
Professor Nancy Rabinowitz of the Literature Department said she thought the installation “was necessary to remind people of what goes on at Hamilton, and indeed at other colleges like it.”
Berryman and Dayna Campbell, Assistant Director of Community Standards, said they also want to encourage the Hamilton community to review this year’s Clery Report and engage in conversations about the information it contains.
“SMART’s art installation is a part of this dialogue,” Berryman said.
Overall, Crasta said SMART feels “happy that [its] installation sparked a conversation about rape culture on this campus.”
Going forward, SMART says it plans to continue to bring issues of sexual assault and violence to light. One SMART member said that the organization “will continue to hold G-board meetings and do various activism projects in the future to keep raising awareness of rape culture on our campus. This will allow the awareness and encouragement that the Clery Act Art installation created to continue.”
The community is encouraged to review the College’s Harassment and Sexual Misconduct resources at:
https://www.hamilton.edu/offices/hsmb.
