Students from the Atlanta University Center are seeking answers from presidents on how to address what they say is a growing culture of sexual violence and intolerance around the institutions.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports on the presidents’ response to a list of 13 demands from the students, who say that rape and victim blaming are increasingly a part of student life, but aren’t among the top priorities for campus administration. From the AJC:
On Tuesday a forum on Spelman’s campus to address the current state of Title IX — the section of federal law that outlaws sexual discrimination and violence — drew mixed reactions from students, with some encouraged by the forum and others discounting its effectiveness.
“There was a lot of rhetoric today,” said Spelman student Clarissa Brooks, a member of the group demanding change and of AUC Shut It Down, which interrupted presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s recent Clark Atlanta visit. “We need a statement specifically saying that Spelman and Morehouse will not condone sexual cultural that allows for sexual violence and the mistreatment of victims, and we didn’t get that.”
As a proud graduate of Clark Atlanta University, I am proud to see our student populations collaborate to effect change in policy and programming in the AUC. As an Epidemiologist, I am in full support of these efforts and will lend my expertise to assist these students to mobilize their efforts and create tangible changes in individual- and group-level risks these students need and deserve regardless of gender or sexual orientation.