Perspectives
4
To the Trustees: We Need More Accountability RONAN TOWELL ‘24
M
y name is Ronan Towell and I am Student Body President. I am humbled to have the opportunity to speak in front of this distinguished group. It is inspiring to think that you were once in my shoes as a student here, that you too slept through your classes. As I have yet to meet the vast majority of you, I will spare you the details of my Davidson journey and instead, I will let the people who know me best make my introduction. My closest friends describe me as resilient, responsible, thoughtful, and honest, almost to a fault. My time at Davidson has given me the opportunity to grow into these traits, and for that I will be forever grateful. As I was preparing for today, I kept returning to the saying “You are the company you keep.” I take pride in the friends that I have made here. Within the company I keep, we hold each other accountable. When we make mistakes, we regard vulnerable honesty more highly than narratives of convenience. Today, I invite you to work with me and to continue your own work with students to make this true for the institution that has given us so much. According to a recent survey that was conducted by the SGA and the Student Title IX representative, which was sent to all current students, there have been 34 instances of sexual violence on campus, which contradicts the Davidson’s official annual figure which varies on average between 5 to 10 formal cases a year before COVID, with a notable decrease since the pandemic. Because this survey is a starting point and almost certainly undercounts the true figure, further research is necessary. To my knowledge, no data exists about non- reported instances of sexual violence at Davidson College. For this discussion, sexual violence is defined “an all-encompassing, non-legal term that refers to harassment, sexual assault, r*pe, and sexual abuse.” Sexual violence can happen in any setting including classrooms, social gatherings, and sports practices, regardless of the time of day or wardrobe choices. Before you is a summary of statistics from our survey, as well as anonymous statements directly from students about their experience with sexual violence on campus. When a student does come forward to the Title IX office, they are presented with formal and informal options by the College’s Title IX Coordinator. A formal case involves pursuing institutional action against their alleged perpetrator or “respondent.” Given the time commitment, emotional burden, and variable results, this route is often not chosen by survivors. An informal case allows for support measures to be put in place to protect the survivor of sexual violence such as a no-contact order and
approval for the survivor to change their Residential Hall and class schedule to limit interactions with their respondent. The respondent is presented with the non-binding option of attending consent classes. There is no record kept of informal cases except in the private care files of the College’s Title IX
number of informal cases in which one student has been labeled a respondent. Tw e l v e , she replied. Twelve times a single student has been named a respondent in informal reports yet they remain on-campus and able to pass a background check with no formal record, consequence, or accountability. Right now, my peers are looking over their shoulders, unable to complete coursework or enjoy the wealth of opportunities available on campus. The full extent of the emotional burden of experiencing such a violation cannot be quantified nor can the grief and anger of seeing harm done to a loved one. As the College envisions its future under a new President, I invite the members of the Board of Trustees to collaborate and innovate a system that protects students and engages in restorative justice as a first response. Ideas include contracting a Pro- Bono legal team to support the current pro- bono attorney in her effort to represent students, as well as reforming the first year consent training and including follow-up sessions throughout their Davidson experience. No one solution is perfect, but Davidson has the opportunity to innovate a combination of solutions to better care for all students. Researching the accountability policies of peer institutions is my next step and perhaps this is where the Board can step in, but that is of course up to you. I know that you all care about Davidson as much as I do and your expertise and experience with this topic are invaluable. Together we can create a campus that offers every student the opportunity to fulfill their potential without being abused, stalked, or otherwise violated by their peers. The Davidson Honor Code has persisted over generations, and has evolved significantly along with attitudes of equity on the basis of income, gender, race, and sexuality. What if we aimed even higher? What if the honor code read,“I will refrain from stealing, lying about College business, cheating on academic work, and violating the individual liberties of my fellow students?” Ronan Towell ‘24 is the Davidson Student Body President, and is majoring in Environmental Studies.
A figure depicting the statistics of sexual assault at Davidson College. Provided by Ronan Towell ‘24
He delivered this speech in front of the Davidson Board of Trustees to inform them about the Title IX policies at Davidson, and how they need to improve.
Coordinator. There is no maximum number of informal cases that a student can have levied against them, nor is there a penalty for being listed as a respondent in multiple informal reports. I asked the Student Title IX Representative, what is the highest
If you have any questions, please direct them toward rotowell@ davidson.edu.
College Expectations are Crippling
I
BELLE STALEY ‘26
would be lying to both myself and whoever is reading this if I declared myself a ‘normal’ college student. However, in order to avoid the too-popularindie-not-like-other-girls trope, I will simply say I do not ‘do’ college normally. And while each bright star at Davidson shines in their own way— from stem queens to our Classical Language tyrants— I differ from each in a fundamental way. Because I am not a college student. I am simply in college. Now, I admit, I am a freshly realized non-college student. My first semester as a self-decided college student I bumbled about to and fro the suggested classes, haphazardly attended seminars I thought might be important and occasionally made an appearance at F. I was miserable. The friends I met seemed mostly situational (I’m desperate for connection and you are too? perfect!), the essays I readand then later the ones I wrote- seemed abstracted from my own reality, and I grasped desperately to hold onto my past self as I was dished out my new ‘collegestudent’ identity. As I flapped helplessly to find a lifebuoy of personhood, I also chose to submerge myself in the crafts of myself. My bread baking, my knitting, my painting.
In my life, these crafts have been a hallmark of myself, my growth, and my passions. They have been both a means of connection with others- companionship, as my Latin 201 class has taught me, comes directly from Latin roots meaning “with bread”- but also myself. Though as I choose to make fresh jam and sourdough instead of going to commons, knit my mom a sweater instead of going to KSIG, and paint the Ada Jenkins Mural instead of attending office hours, I found myself further alienated. Why did none of my friends enjoy baking at dawn? Why was bringing your knitting to parties a quick way to become a fun ‘commodity’? Why was I being referred to as BREAD GIRL all the time? My questions were all answered, however, by a situational acquaintance: “We are college students, belle. You don’t do that in college.” It was simple. I was not a college student. And that’s when I started to love being in college. I love college! I love college! I love college! My biggest worry is the physics project I have to create, the heaviest thing on my mind is the collection of greek ‘μι’ verbs I must memorize, and the only isolation I ever feel is self-made. Because here, in this strange learning bubble, I am surrounded by people excited, people in action, and people who are also ‘in
college.’ We are all not the same. We are all not ‘just college students.’ Now that I have realized ‘the college experience’ is nothing but a Pinterest board of aesthetics rather than a set syllabus of identity, I have been able to find meaning in the abstraction, purpose in the situationality of every interaction, and opportunities in the brochures. Though at first my frantic baking in Belk kitchen may have been an intense form of stress relief, I was recently awarded the Try it Fund grant to start my own sourdough business. Though I signed up for classes with a complete lack of focus, I am enjoying ripping down the stereotypes and assumptions I had created for each genre of study. Yes, Stem is hard but impossible? Sunday AT exists for a reason. Yes, while the whimsical art major cliche stands powerfully, it often hides a meticulously kept creative habit. And yes, classes should take my time but not all of it. As a college student, I was plagued with questions of my major, of my summer plans, and of creating a cohesive narrative to get me from point a (freshman with loose, but still preprofessional plan) to point b (senior with plans for higher education, then a professional career). Now, in college, I dabble in ancient languages in physics. I go to lectures on a whim and banter with professors about knitting patterns. Last year, as I maxed out my common app, I imagined the destination of ‘college’ in abstract terms and feelings.
Today, I still am n o c l o s e r t o understanding where ‘college’ is or ‘what’ it means, however, I am deeply enjoying being on the journey. And finally, as a shoddy college student, I was, sadly, also a subpar college friend. I found myself solely relying on my situation to find my ‘fated lifelong college friends.’ I felt trapped by awkwardness, I felt angry by my isolation, and then further ousted by my hobbies. It was only upon stepping out of the confines of my own identity, my own direct situation, that I was able to see people as more than fellow students but as individuals also battling the college experience. I was able to see individuals outside of college students- the workers on main street and the old ladies at the farmers market- to become a part of my experience. So yes, to finish out my indulgent monologue, I am not a college student. I was never a college student. My knees hurt from jumping to meet expectations I never enjoyed and my shoulders ached in hunching from the weight of the expected. I like to crochet at parties. I enjoy baking rather than joining an E-board. I am choosing to go to a bread festival rather than Frolics. But I do not say this to claim I am different, or alternative, or misunderstood, or ‘not like everyone else’ I am simply ‘in college.’