Last December, Emily Eisler ’17 reported on SMART (Sexual Misconduct and Assault Reform Taskforce)’s mission on campus, with their ultimate goal being to eradicate rape culture on the Hamilton campus. Within its first year, SMART worked on many important projects on campus. One of the most significant projects SMART undertook was the creation of the Policy Advisors for Sexual Assault (PASA) program.
PASA is designed to be a more in-depth resource for survivors to supplement other successful confidential resources like SAVES’ Peer Advocates, the Chaplaincy, and the Counseling Center. SMART believes that one of the reasons rape culture is so pervasive at Hamilton is because survivors are unable or unwilling to report their experiences to the administration. The PASA program is designed to simplify this process and encourage higher rates of reporting. Advisors will be intricately trained to understand Title IX, Hamilton’s policy, and how to emotionally support survivors. PASA advisors will work side-by-side with survivors through every step of the reporting process. Depending on what the survivor is seeking support with, they can act as a friendly, knowledgable face, a resource for complicated questions, or a full-fledged silent advisor through a formal investigation.
What makes PASA unique is the degree of support that it brings survivors. PASA advisors are students rather than faculty members, which enables them to develop a stronger rapport with those who seek them as resources. They are intended to walk survivors through each stage of the investigation process, coming with them to meetings and interviews as silent participants offering their emotional support through their presence. They are also intimately familiar with federal Title IX guidelines, enabling them to be better advocates for students as they engage with the administration.
However, SMART did not stop at creating the PASA program, and believes there are more steps to take to eliminate rape culture at Hamilton. In this way, the organization’s Programming Committee works alongside the Policy Committee, and has spent the last two semesters creating and establishing a program called SMART Talks, to be facilitated by Student Trainers for Outreach Programming (STOP). Those who apply for the STOP program would be trained to facilitate SMART Talks — small, concentrated discussions — in an informed and thoughtful way. STOP was created for two purposes: to lead SMART talks, and to create a large group of people to facilitate conversations, who have the proper training to lead them in an informed and thoughtful way. According to Hannah Fink ’19, SMART Talks were created to respond to a “clear lack of intimate, informational, intentional conversations around sexual assault” on campus. SMART talks are organized around a dialogic model, rather than lecture style. Fink explained that this facilitates real student engagement on a peer level. No one SMART Talk is the same. Each organization that receives a SMART Talk fills out a questionnaire and survey to list what they would like to discuss at the SMART Talk.SMART’s Programming Committee works with organizations via SMART Talks, such as sororities or fraternities, to take charge of their influence on Hamilton’s campus knowledge of sexual assault and violence. Fink states that the ultimate goal of these programs is to facilitate conversation around thesethe creation of “those difficult yet very important” issues ofconversations around sexual assault, serving the larger goal of dismantling the prevalence of rape culture on campus.
SMART is currently accepting applications for the PASA and STOP programs. Beyond their work within these two programs, they are committed to creating a safe and comfortable space on campus for all Hamilton students.
