AU will not submit a grant proposal that would provide $300,000 to fund sexual assault education programs and support services on campus because the administration opposes certain provisions.
The three-year Department of Justice grant would require students to participate in SexualAssaultEdu, an online program similar to AlcoholEdu, and a Welcome Week presentation on sexual assault. Unlike AlcoholEdu, students would face a stop on their account if they did not participate, holding up their class registration.
AU students and officials on a sub-committee of the Sexual Assault Working Group — a group of students and representatives from various AU departments combating sexual violence on campus — began preparing the grant proposal in June 2010. The submission deadline is March 31.
Vice President of Campus Life Gail Hanson will not sign the proposal because she opposes the idea of an account stop for mandatory education, she said.
Her signature is required for it to move further with the AU administration and then be submitted to the Department of Justice.
Hanson said the University needs to be able to continue the programs that would be funded by the grant after the grant runs out, and that there are personnel, funding and facilities issues that need to be resolved in the University budget first.
“When I sign my name to this, I’m affirming that I approve and that we will fulfill all of the plans laid out in the proposal, which as a responsible University official I cannot do,” she said.
Women’s Initiative Director Quinn Pregliasco and senior Leigh Ellis worked on the part of the grant proposal that dealt with the mandatory sexual assault education.
Pregliasco said she was surprised Hanson would not sign the proposal after nearly 10 months of work.
“The push for the grant stemmed from the administration in the Sexual Assault Working Group and from the Office of Campus Life,” she said. “For them to have gone so far and decide to stop it is extremely disheartening and confusing.”
Pregliasco and Ellis said Hanson had approved their section of the proposal in an October meeting. They said Hanson was sent a rough draft of the full proposal in February, which she returned only with grammatical corrections.
However, Hanson said she expressed her concerns in both of these meetings, and told the group she was very uncomfortable with the mandatory education section and possible account stops on Friday, before officially rejecting the proposal Monday.
AlcoholEdu has a 98 percent participation rate without a punishment for not participating, Hanson said.
Pregliasco and Ellis said they hoped to still submit the grant proposal in order to get feedback for next year.
But they cannot submit the proposal alone — it must go through AU’s administration.
Hanson said submitting the proposal for feedback isn’t necessary since feedback could be obtained from experienced grant writers connected to the University without submitting the grant.
She said her office plans to spend $150,000 on women’s issues in the coming year, including transitioning part-time Sexual Assault Health Educator Daniel Rappaport to a full-time position and enlisting peer educators to provide additional programming on sexual assault issues.
The grant proposal also included hiring a victim advocate on campus to coordinate training programs and support services for victims of sexual assault. Currently no one is employed to advocate for survivors of assault, according to the grant proposal.
“Bridging this hole that AU has continued to maintain is crucial to ensuring that we are a safe campus for women,” Pregliasco said, adding that Rappaport currently does not have confidentiality, meaning he cannot advocate for victims or be an intermediary between victims and campus departments that offer services for victims.
The grant proposal cited the 2008 Core Alcohol and Drug Survey of Students, sponsored by the Office of Campus Life, as a reason why the grant should be submitted now.
According to the survey, about 6.8 percent, or 400 students, at AU have reported forced sexual touching or fondling, and 4.1 percent, or 200 students, reported unwanted sexual intercourse during the 2008-2009 year.
In response to Hanson’s decision, Pregliasco and Ellis are reaching out to students on campus, asking them to e-mail Hanson to support the proposal.
Pregliasco and Ellis also organized an informal discussion on March 29, encouraging students to voice their concerns and questions regarding the grant.
Hanson, who attended the meeting, said she will not change her mind by the March 31 deadline and that she is “fundamentally against” mandatory education.
“I want you to know that I’m committed to the same issues that you are,” Hanson said. “You just don’t have the responsibility that I have in ensuring that the grant stipulations are fulfilled and administering the $300,000 over three years.”
nlavin@theeagleonline.com
