Written By: Phuong Tran ‘15
Published December 2014
On Saturday, Nov 1, a group of faculty members and students received an email containing a link to an anonymous blog titled “Is This Feminism?”. Word of the blog, which has since been taken down, quickly spread and became a hot topic around campus.
The anonymous letter posted at feminismdiscourse.wordpress.com appeared to be a response to a
series of several on-campus incidents, including posters and graffiti accusing
two students of rape. In addition, there were reports of alleged harassment of
two students, and on the Friday before the blog was posted, a local 14-year-old
who was involved in the fall theater production Mother
Courage was
witnessed pouring an energy drink on a Randolph student in front of Skeller.
The blog raised some relevant questions about whether harassment and
antagonism of alleged perpetrators of sexual assault, as well as those
associated with them, is in keeping with the ideals of feminism. It mentioned
two male students who were being “harassed, followed, and terrified by female students
at Randolph College in the name of feminism.” The blog conceded that these two
individuals had been accused of either rape or coercion, but made plea for
fairness. “There are two people involved in the process of rape and it is not
just to only consider the account of one,” wrote the blogger, “I would like to
ask when it became appropriate to consider a person guilty until proven
innocent.”
However, some of the language used by the blogger struck a nerve. In
its original form, the blog referred to female accusers as “harpies.” While
that term was deleted, the blog retained other potentially offensive
terminology, characterizing the situation on campus as “an outbreak of female
students crying wolf.” It went on to say, “There are several female students at
Randolph that have begun to use the word rape and consent like weapons against
male students either who maintain a difference of opinion, or who they have
personal vendettas against, in the name of feminism.” The blog also created
confusion by alluding to an epidemic of sexual assaults and yet singling out
only one incident, which the blogger claimed to have “investigated.”
Reactions to the blog differ.
Communication Professor Jennifer Gauthier, an advocate for feminism on campus
who is also offering a gender and media class next semester,
thought the blog contained some problematic language. However, she pointed out
that “the blog was very well-written. It didn’t reveal any individual names and
raised issues for discourse, which I think is responsible.”
In
contrast, Ashley Peisher ‘15, president of the Feminist Majority League
Association (FMLA) of Randolph College, thought that the blog takes a
victim-blaming stance. “The blog shames sexual assault survivors on campus,
claiming that they are lying. It is incredibly offensive, ignorant, and
damaging, especially because it references specific cases and students rather
indiscreetly,” she said.
Kira
Calvaresi ‘17, also a member of FMLA, disagreed. “The blog is neither slut
shaming nor victim blaming, but is addressing harassment and slander of others
on campus. There is a way to go about dealing with sexual assault; hurting
others is not one of those ways.”
On
the anonymous social media platform Yik Yak, the issue was a hot bed for
discussion. “The blog is the truth,” someone posted. “Feminism has been
hijacked by liberal extremists who want to berate all men and blame them for
all shortcomings,” wrote another.
Concerns
about sexual assault and misconduct are not new to Randolph. In the spring of
2014, President Bateman hosted a forum to address issues raised by another
anonymous blog. Under the banner of “notabyastander2014,” it was created by a
group of socially-conscious students and survivors, with the hope of initiating
a constructive dialogue on campus about sexual misconduct.
At the time, there
were anxieties about how reported cases were handled at the College, and
questions about the administration’s commitment to fixing the problems. At the
forum, President Bateman corrected some inaccurate information reported in the
blog and stressed that he, as well as the administration, would treat sexual
assault and misconduct seriously. The last 20 minutes of the forum were left
for discussion, where students’ opinions and feedback were encouraged. Despite
the constructive nature of the forum, the discussion gradually grew into a
verbal fight and ended with a survivor swearing at another who challenged her
point, bursting into tears, and running out of Smith Hall Theatre.
The
unsettled culmination of last year’s forum reflects the degree to which sexual
assault remains a pressing problem not only at Randolph, but at campuses across
the nation.
In
April 2011, Vice President Joe Biden announced new Title IX guidelines
regarding sexual assault and harassment, requiring all colleges to adopt and
publicize stronger enforcement policies as well as designate at least one Title
IX coordinator to enforce these policies under the law. Institutions were left
to devise their own plans of implementation. On May 1, 2014, The Education
Department issued a list of 55 colleges with open “sexual violence
investigations,” including elite private to large public and even small
regional schools. In September, Columbia University senior Emma Sulkowicz made
headlines when she began carrying her mattress around campus as her senior
project. Sulkowicz, a survivor of sexual assault, has stated that she will
continue her protest until her alleged rapist is expelled from school. The
performance went viral, and students at Columbia, as well as on other campuses,
began carrying mattresses in support.
In
the days following the posting of “Feminism Discourse,” the actual discourse
among interested parties at Randolph escalated. Kira Calvaresi, a Sundial
staffer who reported on Title IX developments at Randolph in November, was
anonymously removed from FMLA’s Facebook page after a fallout with others in
the group, due to her defense that the blog had made some valid points. She
also became a target of attack on social media platforms. “THE TITLE 9 ARTICLE
CONDONES SLUT-SHAMING,” one Yik-Yaker
wrote, despite the fact that Calvaresi’s article was a straightforward account
of the College’s working progress on complying with Title IX policy. “Whoever
said that the title IX article condones slut-shaming—quote it. Read and quote
where it does that,” posted another Yik-Yaker. The controversy also led to the
local 14-year-old from the drink-pouring incident being removed from the Mother
Courage cast and barred from campus. Another
situation, yet to be resolved, involved a member of FMLA shoving another
student who was associating with an alleged perpetrator of sexual assault.
“I
hadn’t heard much about the harassment at all until the blog,” explained FMLA
President Peisher. “I don’t condone harassment. Period. It isn’t acceptable.
The reason why I have spoken out about the blog has actually very little to do
with the incidents and/or claims of harassment at all. It is everything to do
with the wording the blog used.”
However,
Peisher is concerned about the way FMLA has been linked to these incidents via
social media. “That FMLA is being perceived that way is disturbing to me and
obviously something I would help change. FMLA is not about man-hating or
punishing anyone, it is all about spreading conversations of feminism on
campus.”
The
anonymous FMLA member who removed Calvaresi from the group’s Facebook page
admitted that she did it of her own accord. “I removed Kira because I didn’t
want to continue this argument about the victim-blaming blog. She wouldn’t
change her mind and so wouldn’t we. It was not going anywhere, and I just
didn’t want to see the whole group torn up because of this conversation,” she
said.
This person was the one accused of shoving the student with a knee injury. While asked to comment on why she did it, she said: “It was in the Dining Hall at rush hour and it wasn’t intentional. However, I can understand why she saw it as harassment. I dislike this girl and I know she isn’t fond of me, either. So if she does the same thing to me, I would consider it harassment as well.”
As a survivor, this anonymous person was strongly offended by the blog. Last fall, she filed a sexual assault case with DOS. While the case was being handled, her alleged assailant was expelled for academic reasons, making it impossible for the DOS to complete the investigation. Although the accused was banned from campus after his expulsion, the case was never resolved. Hostility started growing between the anonymous survivor’s friends and those of the accused. “I am 99.99% sure that the blog made reference to my case, and it implied that I lied about my experience,” she said.
Another anonymous source who is friends with parties on both sides of the dispute had this to say: “The problem tied up in this case is two groups of very strongly opinionated people that antagonize each other. The tension between them has been building and escalating since the hearing last year. This semester just happens to be the semester in which it all came to the fore front, and the antagonism elevated beyond just refusing to acknowledge each other.”
In an interview with The Sundial, Dean of Students Matha Thornton allowed that when students share information about sexual misconduct cases on a small campus, it can lead to unforeseeable consequences. “Students can share much more than the College and the administrators,” she said. “And students can share information that may not be accurate, which makes it difficult because I cannot speak to individual cases.”
In other words, even if misinformation is circulated, DOS cannot comment. “That is our dilemma,” admitted Thornton. “It’s a dilemma faced on other campuses as well.”
The recent incidents at Randolph, involved not only antagonistic behavior between the two groups of students, but also other members of the community. Along with the 14-year-old local girl losing her right to perform in Mother Courage, Kira Calvaresi was harassed online and in person by certain individuals, after she published comments about the blog, and was tagged with supporting its contentions. On Yik Yak, insults were hurled at FMLA and its members, even though the group was not officially involved in what amounted to a quarrel between two distinct groups of students. Most seriously, there were other students who felt so unsafe that they began carrying pepper spray with them on campus.
“I am concerned for the students who are being hurt by the comments that are made by their peers on social media,” Dean Thornton said. “I don’t think that yelling at each other will solve anything. But disagreeing with each other is different and I think that you cannot cross that line to becoming hostile towards each other.”
Evan Smith ‘15, the president of Student Government, had a meeting with Dean Thornton on November 5 about the blog and the bigger issues it raised. Smith was concerned that there are students who don’t have confidence in the current process for addressing sexual assault and harassment complaints. “We need to either fix the system or let people know that the system is fine,” he explained. “I don’t think the system is absolutely fine because it obviously did not serve some people well. I have told some students who have been survivors of sexual assault and rape that we need to record on paper how the system failed them and tell Dean Thornton what needs to be fixed, so that future survivors can have a better chance of being treated better. That way, we may get some progress or momentum going.”
Dean Thornton has encouraged students to speak up and voice such concerns at community meetings. As she put it, “Student Government meets every Wednesday, and it is always a venue for students to voice their opinions; they do not have to wait for a special forum or a town hall meeting.”
She also stressed, “There can be disagreement and there has to be room for that. I do think it’s important for students to engage in this discourse, but that can be difficult. Activist work is hard. It can be very difficult, time-consuming, and everyone is not going to always agree. So you have to be willing to engage in that dialogue and disagree and be willing to listen to one another about what they are disagreeing with and really hear one another.”
A Yik Yak post seconded Dean Thornton’s comment: “Let’s not further complicate the issue with in-fighting. Movements need positivity to make a proper impact. Our current situation is evidence of that.”
This person was the one accused of shoving the student with a knee injury. While asked to comment on why she did it, she said: “It was in the Dining Hall at rush hour and it wasn’t intentional. However, I can understand why she saw it as harassment. I dislike this girl and I know she isn’t fond of me, either. So if she does the same thing to me, I would consider it harassment as well.”
As a survivor, this anonymous person was strongly offended by the blog. Last fall, she filed a sexual assault case with DOS. While the case was being handled, her alleged assailant was expelled for academic reasons, making it impossible for the DOS to complete the investigation. Although the accused was banned from campus after his expulsion, the case was never resolved. Hostility started growing between the anonymous survivor’s friends and those of the accused. “I am 99.99% sure that the blog made reference to my case, and it implied that I lied about my experience,” she said.
Another anonymous source who is friends with parties on both sides of the dispute had this to say: “The problem tied up in this case is two groups of very strongly opinionated people that antagonize each other. The tension between them has been building and escalating since the hearing last year. This semester just happens to be the semester in which it all came to the fore front, and the antagonism elevated beyond just refusing to acknowledge each other.”
In an interview with The Sundial, Dean of Students Matha Thornton allowed that when students share information about sexual misconduct cases on a small campus, it can lead to unforeseeable consequences. “Students can share much more than the College and the administrators,” she said. “And students can share information that may not be accurate, which makes it difficult because I cannot speak to individual cases.”
In other words, even if misinformation is circulated, DOS cannot comment. “That is our dilemma,” admitted Thornton. “It’s a dilemma faced on other campuses as well.”
The recent incidents at Randolph, involved not only antagonistic behavior between the two groups of students, but also other members of the community. Along with the 14-year-old local girl losing her right to perform in Mother Courage, Kira Calvaresi was harassed online and in person by certain individuals, after she published comments about the blog, and was tagged with supporting its contentions. On Yik Yak, insults were hurled at FMLA and its members, even though the group was not officially involved in what amounted to a quarrel between two distinct groups of students. Most seriously, there were other students who felt so unsafe that they began carrying pepper spray with them on campus.
“I am concerned for the students who are being hurt by the comments that are made by their peers on social media,” Dean Thornton said. “I don’t think that yelling at each other will solve anything. But disagreeing with each other is different and I think that you cannot cross that line to becoming hostile towards each other.”
Evan Smith ‘15, the president of Student Government, had a meeting with Dean Thornton on November 5 about the blog and the bigger issues it raised. Smith was concerned that there are students who don’t have confidence in the current process for addressing sexual assault and harassment complaints. “We need to either fix the system or let people know that the system is fine,” he explained. “I don’t think the system is absolutely fine because it obviously did not serve some people well. I have told some students who have been survivors of sexual assault and rape that we need to record on paper how the system failed them and tell Dean Thornton what needs to be fixed, so that future survivors can have a better chance of being treated better. That way, we may get some progress or momentum going.”
Dean Thornton has encouraged students to speak up and voice such concerns at community meetings. As she put it, “Student Government meets every Wednesday, and it is always a venue for students to voice their opinions; they do not have to wait for a special forum or a town hall meeting.”
She also stressed, “There can be disagreement and there has to be room for that. I do think it’s important for students to engage in this discourse, but that can be difficult. Activist work is hard. It can be very difficult, time-consuming, and everyone is not going to always agree. So you have to be willing to engage in that dialogue and disagree and be willing to listen to one another about what they are disagreeing with and really hear one another.”
A Yik Yak post seconded Dean Thornton’s comment: “Let’s not further complicate the issue with in-fighting. Movements need positivity to make a proper impact. Our current situation is evidence of that.”
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