As Told by Bergeron Emails: Voyeurism Through the Years

Photo courtesy of Connecticut College.

My first year at Connecticut College, the campus experienced what President Katherine Bergeron then called an “unprecedented” incident: voyeurism in the residence hall bathrooms. Months of unrest ensued, with students spearheading protests and demanding action. After months of an investigation, the perpetrator was finally caught, and the campus dealt with the aftermath. 

I remember an email being sent to my entire building, requesting we remain in our rooms on a certain date for a fixed window of time, because during that window, investigators would arrive at our rooms with all the photos culled from the phone of the perpetrator. Student after student would review these photos, searching for identifiable personal features—such as an anklet or tattoo—that would confirm their status as a victim of voyeurism in their own living space. 

An email sent by President Bergeron in the spring of 2019 reflects on these events, and details a set of actions the school was set to implement over the course of a few months. It is clear the bulleted list from my first year has not gone far enough in addressing the issue, because now, in my senior year, the campus is experiencing yet another incident of voyeurism in residence halls. 

The list from 2019 follows as such:

• Phased installation of cameras to increase security at entrances and exits to residence halls
• Creation of a Conn College app to make critical phone numbers available in one touch
• Preparation of a year-end report on the number and handling of sexual misconduct complaints
• Placement of an additional blue light phone as well as lighted signs with information about Title IX resources in the River Ridges/Winchesters
• Administering a climate survey to gain more data about experiences of sexual misconduct
• Creating a working group of students, faculty, and staff to review and refine our policies, procedures, and communication strategies

As for implementation of the measures:

1. Students rightfully rallied against the cameras, as they add a discomfiting layer of surveillance, particularly for BIPOC students. 
2. The Rave Guardian app provides a list of critical phone numbers, but making a phone call after an incident is a retroactive solution to a problem that demands proactivity. 
3. Sexual misconduct reports are now available on CamelWeb. Like everything else on CamelWeb, it is a hassle to find; and like point 2, it fails to remedy the core issue.
4. The vast majority of blue light phones do not work. This issue was recently raised by students to administration, and now most of these phones display “Out of Order” signs.
5. The last time I received a survey was pre-COVID.
6. These working groups only work if administration heeds their suggestions.

On Nov. 19, 2021, Bergeron sent the campus community another email about voyeurism, with another bulleted list of projected actions. They follow as such:

• Locks will be installed in single stall bathrooms that are not currently lockable
• Upper windows in Larrabee bathrooms will be frosted
• Any remaining gaps in stalls will be filled
• Architectural studies will be conducted to identify other future solutions 
• New mounted signage will include the 24/7 On-Call Line for the confidential Sexual Violence and Prevention Advocate: (860) 460-9194

If we can imagine that the physical alterations to buildings were adequate—many stall doors are alarmingly short, allowing for camera access, for one—it remains unclear why these alterations were not implemented years ago. Students had called for each of these adjustments, and more, in the form of emails and open forums and meetings.

In 2019, Bergeron ended her email by saying “we will continue to welcome—and to heed—your ideas.” It took not only essentially the span of my time at Conn to “heed” student ideas, but also a repeat incident. Only time will tell whether the school implements preventative measures. In the meantime, we can only hope that offices like Sexual Violence Prevention Advocacy are adequately funded by the institution so that we can collectively work toward an end to rape culture, the real issue at hand.