Speak Out

For the last three years, I’ve been organizing Speak Out, an annual performance to raise awareness about the scope and impact of sexual assault at Dartmouth, and this week was the 2006 performance. The night was a huge success. Each year, we’ve had a larger audience than the year before and this year was particularly impressive. Not only did a number of the Deans of the College come but we had people from all across campus sitting in Collis Commonground, the performance space in the student center, listening to the stories of survivors, their friends, family, and significant others.

The night ended in tears for many but it was an empowering evening as well. Women and men were able to let their voices be heard and were able to speak to an audience who was willing to listen. Even a Dartmouth professor shared her story. The performers all wore Dartmouth apparel to represent the fact that they are all members of the Dartmouth community and their experiences affect us all.

In the audience we had a number of SAPAs (Sexual Abuse Peer Advisors) on call to help anyone who needed advice or someone to talk to throughout the program. Dartmouth has a strong peer advising program for a variety of issues – sexual abuse, drugs and alcohol, eating disorders, and sexual education – and each advising program has its own training but it allows Dartmouth students to bring their training and expertise to the Dartmouth community and therefore, Dartmouth students are watching out for and helping other Dartmouth students. Students choose to go through the trainings and become certified for a number of reasons and this diversity of motivation and perspective further enriches the program.