On September 15, Dean of Institutional and Equity Inclusion (DIEI) Rodmon King announced in an email that Rachel Stewart, our director for the Office of Sexual Violence Prevention and Advocacy (OSVPA), was accepting a new position at a different college. With Stewart’s vital role as an advocate for sexual assault survivors on campus, coupled with Ebony Manning’s recent departure from her role as Title IX coordinator, many students were concerned about a void left in OSVPA.
After a declining trend of administrators leaving OSVPA and a few months with limited administrators in the office, the DIEI administration recently announced Megan Monahan as the new Associate Dean of Equity and Compliance Programs and Title IX Coordinator. Dean King also announced that Nicole Powell will be the new Director of SVPA, starting in early March. Prior to the recent hiring of both Monahan and Powell, two recent alumni were appointed in late November as confidential advocates, alongside Justin Mendillo, who is the current Director of Gender and Sexuality Programs. Zoe Bertone ‘22 and Megan Tracy ‘22 both worked closely with Stewart and the rest of the OSVPA throughout their time at Conn before graduating last spring. I spoke with Bertone and Tracy about their experience in the office so far and how it feels to come back to serve the Camel community as advocates.
Q: What are your current roles in the SVPA office?
A: “Our current roles are interim confidential advocates. Although we are happy to collaborate with programming when advocates are needed, another interim position was created for OSVPA programming. This position is currently held by our colleague, Professor Luciana Quagliato who has an extensive background in activism. [Ourselves] and Justin Mendillo are currently the confidential advocates on campus. Luciana and the student staff on OSVPA handle all of OSVPAs programs and communications. To sign up for advocacy hours with a confidential advocate, use this link to reach our calendar: https://bit.ly/ConnCollSVPA”.
Q: How does it feel to come back to Conn after graduating last spring?
A: “We are both very excited to be back on campus working with students and survivors again! We are committed to ensuring student survivors are supported in our community.”
Q: Did you apply to become a confidential advocate or did Conn reach out to you to offer a position?
A: “Both! The college knew that finding the next right fit for Director of OSVPA might take some time. During the interim time, OSVPA needed qualified folks who knew the “ropes’’ of the office, were up to date on current policies and procedures, and had an advocacy background to step in. We were both heavily involved in OSVPA during our time at Conn. We also both pursued advocacy certifications and advocacy work outside of the college during our time. Due to that, we were appropriate fits for interim advocacy positions at this time. As alumnae, we also care deeply about the anti-sexual violence movement at Conn!”
Q: Has your perspective of the Conn administration and how they handle sexual violence on campus as a student changed since becoming a confidential advocate?
A: “When we were students, we were both very active in the anti-sexual violence movement on our campus. As advocates, we learn something new every day. Therefore, our views on sexual violence at Conn are always shifting and shaping. In terms of the institution, there is always more our community could be doing regarding sexual violence prevention and response. That comes from every single member of our community which includes the students, staff, faculty, and administration. It also includes federal and state policies that govern sexual violence response on college campuses. As advocates, our jobs are to ensure survivors and folks affected by sexual violence have the support they need.”
Q: Have there been any struggles within the SVPA office in regard to many DIEI administrators leaving within the past year?
A: “There is no disregarding the changes that the OSVPA office has gone through in the last few months, mostly due to the departure of Rachel Stewart. Rachel’s departure was felt by everyone in the College, but especially student staff, peer educators, and survivors on campus. We are committed to ensuring advocacy is available for survivors at Conn. Over the last few months, we have seen many students step up and speak up about changes that need to be made on campus. This situation has also allowed us to step back, and figure out how we can best support survivors. OSVPA has never been made up of one person. It is made up of every single person on campus speaking up, and getting involved.”
Q: What are some things that you are looking forward to in the SVPA office?
A: “We are looking forward to working with students and figuring out how we can best use our role, and identities as recent graduates, to get survivors on campus the support they need. As alumnae of the institution, we are especially committed to the anti-sexual violence movement in the Connecticut College community.”
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
A: “We want to hear from students! Our job is specifically focused on supporting you all, so we more than welcome any comments or suggestions!
You do not need to be a survivor to speak with us. Sexual violence does not just impact the person who experienced it, but everyone around them. We are here to support all students on campus.
We hear you, we see you, we are here for you.
We will be offering some virtual advocacy hours [for students not living on campus]. We recognize that time at home, and with family and friends can bring up a plethora of emotions, so we will be available by appointment. If our current offered appointments do not work for you, please feel free to reach out to us by email and let us know and we are happy to find another time. You can email us directly at mtracy1@conncoll.edu for Megan or zbertone@conncoll.edu for Zoe. We also both regularly check the advocacy email svpa@conncoll.edu.” •
