By next week, a group of approximately 15 administrators will have received training as part of a new Sexual Assault Response Team (SART).  The team comprises class deans and administrators from the Office of Behavioral Health Services, Health Services, Chaplains’ Offices, Residential Life, Student Activities and the athletics department.  SART members will be a resource for students who have been affected by sexual violence, and will be able to knowledgeably inform students of their options, including other sources for help.

SART is one step in ongoing process to improve the University’s resources and policies for cases of sexual assault.  Students argued for a full-time staff member devoted to this issue, but, due to financial constraints, the University cannot add another staff person at this time.  However, SART members will all have the training to provide an informed response to students.

“We’re not creating new services,” Currie said. “We are aggregating existing resources. SART members can point students in the direction of resources for their own recovery and how to go through judicial channels.”

Director of Student Activities and Leadership Development Tim Shiner, Director of Health Education Lisa Currie, Dean of Students Rick Culliton, Vice President for Student Affairs Mike Whaley, along with students from FemNet and the Wesleyan Student Assembly met several times beginning last year to discuss and make changes to sexual assault resources on campus.  Through these conversations, it became clear that students weren’t informed about resources available to them and were uncertain about whom they could turn to.

“SART is designed to be a group of people that students can come to who are knowledgeable about issues of sexual violence and resources on and off campus,” Currie said.

SART members will receive eight hours of training, in two sessions, on February 11 and February 18. Women and Family Services, a domestic and sexual violence center in Middletown, will teach the administrators about the dynamics of sexual violence and how to properly respond. Director of the Student Judicial Board Scott Backer, Director of Public Safety Dave Meyer, Culliton and Currie will inform team members about judicial options and procedures both on and off campus.

“[SART] will help provide all of the options available to students, so they are able to make choices that are right for them,” Shiner said. “One thing that helps [victims of sexual assault] is being given the power back to make the choices that are best for them.”

SART members will be available during regular office hours, but there is counselor at the Office of Behavioral Health Services (OBHS) available 24 hours a day, and another at Women and Family Services in Middletown.

SART members are not trained for giving a therapeutic response; students will be directed to OBHS for help.  However, SART members will be able to give informed answers about students’ options and how students can proceed if they press charges through the University or the Middletown Police.  The hope is that students will seek SART members on their own, or be referred through Residential Advisor or Public Safety officer.  Students are free to choose any member of the team to talk to.

SART members will be announced after training has been completed, and a new website for sexual assault resources will be ready later in the semester, according to Currie. She hopes to train more members in the future, but for now, the group is approximately 15 people as they pilot the program.

“I’m really pleased with the progress we made in a year,” said Currie.  “Considering this was only conceptual last year, we have moved quickly.”

The SART program is partly modeled on those at other universities, like the University of Connecticut and Trinity College.