The University of Memphis held a Critical Conversation on Thursday in the University Center Memphis Room about what steps need to be taken in order to correctly respond to sexual assault.
The Daily Helmsman reported sexual assault concerns on campus in an article published Oct. 10, 2017. Since the publication of the article, the subject has gained more attention from the university and its students.
Addie James, first-year graduate student studying sexual assault and media research, said at the conversation many students and faculty members proposed ideas for group discussion in the classroom and also discussed the #MeToo movement and how it relates to the campus at the conversation.
“There was one woman at our table who had never even heard of the #MeToo movement,” James said. “As shocked as I was, it puts into perspective that not everyone knows the cultural climate we live in now.”
James said she urges those who care about the movement to speak up and educate their peers and said she urges the university to hold more conversations.
“I definitely think these conversations will be beneficial to the U of M,” James said. “The ideas brought to the table, including holding bystander training and trauma response, should be put into action as soon as possible. It just starts with the university to make these crucial changes.”
James said there weren’t many students from organizations at the conversation.
“Maybe it’s on the school because the event wasn’t advertised that well,” James said. “But sometimes status in an organization can help others to join, so I hope to see more of these organizations represented at these conversations in the future.”
Mary Jo Harmon, a first-year graduate student in the counseling department at the U of M, also said she wanted to see more organizations at this conversation.
“There needs to be more major organizations involved in this,” Harmon said. “Honestly, I feel like there should’ve been more students at this event, period.”
Harmon said the conversation brought up many good discussion topics about programs that are in the process of being instituted.
“We talked a lot about what the university can do to help victims and how to prevent this from happening altogether,” Harmon said. “We discussed safety concerns, lighting concerns on campus and even about how Greek life doesn’t seem to be talking enough about this.”
Harmon said the discussion was something U of M students needed and said she hopes to see more of in the future.
“I walked away from this event with a great deal of hope,” Harmon said. “There are a lot of us that are ready to get conversations rolling, and I truly believe that we can really change future generational impacts of sexual abuse and harassment, which is really exciting.”
