September 1, 2024 – Student leaders for Sexual Violence Prevention (SVP), accused Whitman’s administration of abandoning their work towards a safe campus. What was billed as a two-hour consent and safety orientation, finished in just thirty minutes. In lieu of any talk about consent, however, students claimed a consistent pattern of exploitation. Citing the loss of their advisor and lack of budget, students called out Whitman for what they say is superficial support.  

The presentation was led by Jackie Zapanta, Nate Korahais, and Megan Radley; all Senior members of SVP. 

“Dean Joshua and Dean Dunn are really good at making it look like they care, (…) we wanted to warn you, and not just pretend like we are supported and like you are supported, because we honestly don’t think you are,” Zapanta said.

Organizers say they had high hopes at the end of last school year, with then-Sexual Violence Prevention specialist Kersten Bergstrom supporting their efforts. Those hopes were dashed, they say, when Bergstrom left and nobody took her place. 

“We feel that it’s exploitative, even more so now that Kersten is no longer here,” Korahais said, “Admin has an expectation that they can simply rely on the student organization SVP to give the adequate and appropriate consent education, and to create a space that has prevention programs and is a safe space for survivors.”

Dean of Students Kazi Joshua declined to comment on the allegations raised by students at the presentation.  

Senior Associate Dean of Students Juli Dunn wrote in an email to the Wire: “From the summer forward, the leaders did not take me up on my offers of support nor indicate that they needed anything. SVP receives the same administrative support from our office as all other student-run clubs and organizations.”

Dunn’s account differs from that of the SVP students, who claimed numerous times that they did not have administrative support.  

An anonymous student refuted Dunn’s claim of support.

“That makes it sound like she is unconditionally open to supporting us,” they said.

Which, they claim, is not the case. According to the source, concern has “absolutely” been expressed to the administration, though Dunn states “none of the leaders I have been working with have expressed this concern.”

Organizers told the Wire that their main demands are for a full-time advisor with expertise in sexual violence prevention, and a designated budget for their work. 

Currently, they say, SVP has no budget and no advisor.

“Whitman as an institution is more concerned with looking like they are doing something as opposed to actually doing it,” Zapanta said during the presentation, “When SVP is not offered financial support, time, and effort across multiple offices it shows us that it is not a priority.”

Goldie Cameron, is a Junior and Resident Assistant, who was attending the event with her residents. 

“I had no idea [this was happening]. I assumed it would be a standard meeting where I’d be sitting there until my residents were done, and then they dropped that bombshell,” Cameron said. 

Cameron states her support for SVP’s message.

“It was what needed to be said, truly,” Cameron said.

Radley explained that the decision to call out Whitman’s behavior came from a sense of care for students.

“I didn’t want to create this false sense of hope for Whitman’s resources,” Radley said. 

“The reason we are not doing this presentation is the same reason people stormed the Board of Trustees meeting back in 2016. Whitman did not care about sexual violence prevention then, and it still does not today,” Zapanta said.

On April 29th, 2016 a group of women protesting sexual assault disrupted a Board of Trustees meeting to expose what they called an “epidemic of sexual violence” at Whitman. Subsequently, the college separated the position of Sexual Assault Victim’s Advocate from the position of Greek Advisor. Both positions were held by then-employee Barbara Maxwell. Later, Julie Dunn took Maxwell’s place and worked as the Title IX coordinator. Now, Stace Sievert advises greek life, Cassandre Beccai serves as the Title IX coordinator, and Karen Angel is serving as SAVA.

According to Whitman’s annual Clery reports, since 2016 there have been 173 total incidents involving sexual violence, domestic and intimate partner violence. 

Radley talked in detail about the nature of Whitman’s Clery reports and their failure to include the full scope of the issue.

 “The numbers do not reflect the actual prevalence of sexual violence on campus,” Radley said, “Whitman struggles with under reporting for a variety of reasons.”

At the end of the presentation, Korahais, Zapanta and Radley affirmed their message with a statement which they claim the administration lacks, “Thank you for telling us. We believe you.” 

SVP was met with a standing ovation. The room was visibly emotionally charged, with some students crying. 

Allen Zamudio, Freshman, was one of many attendees who felt engaged by the presentation. 

“I do plan on getting involved in SVP in the future, and learning more about the ways that Whitman fails its students,” Zamudio said. 

Freshman, Leslie Resendiz talked about how she was looking forward to the presentation, but was left feeling shocked. 

“I’m really glad I got to know how Whitman really reacts to this. It kind of shocked me a bit, because the student body has put so much work into this,” Resendiz said.

The path forward for SVP is unclear. Korahais says students would like to be on the hiring committee to select a new advisor. He hopes to meet with President Bolton and other administrators to garner institutional support. Other members of SVP also plan to continue their educational and supportive work on campus, despite their described setbacks.