"Activism has an important role in making change, but we are deeply concerned about the chilling effect of misinformation and unfounded assertions on survivors of rape or sexual assault who may fear that they will not have the support they need at Ohio University."
We write today from a desire to correct misinformation and unfounded assertions about the University’s support and investment in resources for survivors of rape and sexual assault. Activism has an important role in making change, but we are deeply concerned about the chilling effect of misinformation and unfounded assertions on survivors of rape or sexual assault who may fear that they will not have the support they need at Ohio University.
To survivors of rape and sexual assault — we support you, and we support the continuation of funding for the Survivor Advocacy Program, Counseling and Psychological Services (CPS) and other resources on our campus.
The rumor that the OUSAP has been cut is false. Dr. Suzanne Dietzel, Director of the Women’s Center, which is housed under the Provost’s unit and the division of Diversity and Inclusion, was a pivotal member of the group that wrote the original grant to bring a survivor advocacy program to our campus. Since that grant was awarded in 2009, the program has been continuously supported by federal funds. The program’s budget was reduced from $300,000 to $270,000 between the first and second grant funding cycles, because not all of the funds were used in the first cycle and were carried over to the next cycle. In addition, the University pledged matching funds to cover the adjustment.
Because OUSAP has been continuously grant-funded and will continue to be so through October 2015, it has not been necessary to implement permanent funding until the upcoming budget cycle. We are just now in the budget planning process for academic year 2015-2016. Dr. Dietzel submitted her budget request for replacement funding for OUSAP. We agreed with her request — it was the highest priority of the Diversity and Inclusion division. It has also been publicly named as a high priority project of the Provost’s Office, as well. The rumor that the Board of Trustees voted to defund the program is false. The Board of Trustees does not vote on individual programmatic budgets, and the idea that funding for this program was negatively impacted, as part of their agenda, is not how academic and programmatic budgets are created and approved.
The rumor that CPS’s budget and services to students have been cut is also false. OUSAP provides support for survivors of rape and sexual assault and is part of comprehensive resources, which includes programs such as CPS. In fact, CPS holds walk-in triage hours from 9:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. daily, and students facing crisis outside of these hours will be assisted immediately by on-call crisis counselors. Students who call for a non-urgent appointment are typically scheduled within two weeks. An important part of meeting the needs of survivors is helping them to disclose during triage that they have been sexually assaulted so they can be seen by a counselor immediately. In addition, the CPS budget has grown by $268,266 from fiscal year 2012 to fiscal year 2015, with all additional funding used directly for increased staffing.
The rumor that we have ignored the program’s space needs is false. Discussions within the University regarding a new location for the program are progressing. However, we are mindful of identifying the right space, which takes into consideration the concerns expressed by survivors and advocates, such as location and parking to ensure privacy and accessibility. Dr. Dietzel has been, and will continue to be, included in the planning process.
We applaud the efforts of students and others who are demanding that we, as a society, stop rape and sexual assault and create a climate of safety, respect and care for one another. We are not sending this message as a challenge, but rather an offering to work together to solve the collective problem of rape and sexual assault.
This Op-Ed was co-written by Dr. Pam Benoit, Executive Vice President and Provost and Dr. Shari Clarke, Vice Provost for Diversity and Inclusion.
