One Ohio University student believes the university needs to be open when it comes to hiring new program coordinator.
According an article in The Post on Oct. 16, Delaney Anderson left her position as program coordinator of Ohio University Survivor Advocacy Program for another job. OUSAP offered support and counseling services to survivors of sexual assault, relationship violence and stalking. This left the program without a licensed confidential source to for survivors to talk about their situations. I see this as a huge issue, especially so close to Halloween when 10,000-30,000 non-residents come to Athens. This extreme influx of people makes the risks of sexual assaults higher.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="62a17684-7770-11e5-bdb6-bb6b2419277a"}}
Survivors who go to OUSAP expect to talk about their issues knowing that the information they share will be confidential. Faculty members and RAs are mandated reporters, which means that they are required to report instances of sexual misconduct if they are informed. Survivors are more willing to open up about their trauma if they know the information will be kept confidential. Students have the option to go to Counseling and Psychological Services or Campus Care for confidential services.
In addition, a lot of survivors may be hesitant to seek treatment and counseling. At OUSAP, if a person walks in for help, the counselor already knows the general situation the person needs help with and is specifically trained in helping in those types of situations. At CPS, the victim has to outwardly explain their situation upon arrival, which could be extremely challenging.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="d6118672-76b2-11e5-8184-4be99260c3fe"}}
My main concern is that the job position has not been posted yet to find a replacement. Dr. Shari Clarke, vice provost for Diversity and Inclusion stated in a letter that the position has not been posted because they are “re-evaluating the position description and title.” How long will it take to re-evaluate what we already know has been a successful program? The longer it takes, the longer survivors are denied this wonderful service our university once had. OU has been praised for the existence of OUSAP, so I am shocked that there is not more urgency in finding a replacement coordinator.
Since the position has not been replaced, Student Senate has closed the OUSAP doors to prevent people from accidentally disclosing information to a mandated reporter. I advocate for transparency of the process in finding a replacement for the coordinator as well as people being aware of why the program was shut down temporarily.
Sarah Holm is a sophomore studying photojournalism at Ohio University.
