Jessica Ensley urges the university to fund the Ohio University Survivor Advocacy Program.
Last week I participated in the disruption of the Board of Trustees meeting. One of our demands was for the university to fund the Ohio University Survivor Advocacy Program on the program’s own terms. OUSAP currently runs on a grant that is set to expire in October.
OUSAP is the only program on campus that truly puts survivors’ needs first. The program’s workers aren’t mandated reporters, and they work outside the justice system. They are there if survivors or friends of survivors just want to talk. If someone wants to make a report, they walk students through the process and let them know what to expect. They will also go with them to report an attack if that is what the survivor wants. They are also available late at night if, after an attack, a survivor is in the hospital. There is no victim-blaming, and there are no attempts to silence.
If the university does not fully fund OUSAP so it can operate independently, there will be no voice advocating for survivors on campus. All professors, residential assistants and some other university employees are mandated reporters. If the student wants some general counseling, they might not get what they need in time, since Counseling and Psychological Services — another underfunded program — can take weeks or longer to get back to students.
OUSAP has been running on grants since it was formed in 2010, and its funding was already cut when it received its second grant in 2012. From 2009 to 2012, it had a $100,000 annual budget, and then from 2012 to this year, it’s had a $90,000 annual budget.
It’s worth noting that OU President Roderick McDavis was given an $85,000 bonus last summer, which would have been enough to fund OUSAP for another year. (It’s also, coincidentally, how much student debt I have.) The university has made no promise to fund OUSAP.
The program expected to help all student survivors is located in the cramped basement of McKee House, where the Internet often goes out. If OUSAP were a program targeted toward athletics, I’d bet it would have its own brand new building with sufficient supplies. OUSAP needs funding, a larger budget and a better space with private areas to consult with survivors. This university has known for years that this grant was set to expire and hasn’t done a damn thing. It’s clear how little the safety and well-being of survivors of sexual assault is to this administration.
I watched as McDavis and other trustees smiled, giggled and made light of our protesting their meeting. Minutes before we stood up, trustee Sandra J. Anderson made a point to say that students’ voices are important. Yet ours didn’t seem very important to any of them. It’s time the board puts survivors before the bonuses of millionaires and fund OUSAP.
Jessica Ensley is a senior studying journalism and an active member of F--kRapeCulture. Email her at je726810@ohio.edu.
