Preacher named sexual assault student resource
By KATE NAGENGAST
Assistant News Editor
As part of continuing efforts to improve campus-wide support for sexual assault victims, the University appointed Ava Preacher as the Uni-versity's first person resource person for victims of sexual assault.
Prea-cher, the assistant dean for undergraduate studies in the College of Arts and Letters, has been involved with some of the issues surround sexual assault though her experience as director of gender studies from 1990-93, her membership on the University Committee on Women Faculty and Students and her position as a faculty advisor for the Campus Alliance for Rape Elimination (CARE).
The ease with which her office in O'Shaughnessy allows her to see students anonymously was also a primary consideration, said Preacher.
"I've had a number of students who have just shown up in my office in the past when I was director of gender studies and in this position as dean. Students would come in to talk about their cases before they went to Student Affairs and even afterwards, so I have some experience dealing with students one on one as well," said Preacher.
Preacher will act as a resource for students to understand the processes, procedures and policies that apply when a sexual assault is reported to the University or the South Bend Police Department. She aims not to advise victims about an appropriate decision, but to provide information, said Preacher.
"I don't have a direct connection with Student Affairs," said Preacher. "I'm in an academic office and all I get from [Student Affairs] is information so I'm truly an impartial advocate for the students."
Although the University has been in the process of reforming campus-wide sexual assault polices since last spring and announced official changes last October, an article about a Saint Mary's student allegedly raped by a Notre Dame student published in the March issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine rehashed much of the controversy. Preacher's appointment two weeks after the publication of the article, however, was unrelated, said both Preacher and Dennis Moore, director of public relations for Notre Dame.
"[Ava Preacher's appointment] was planned long before that article even existed," said Moore. "The person who wrote the article had a long interview with Bill Kirk about all the new resources we offer, but chose not to include that information in the article. This appointment has nothing to do with that, and as far as we're concerned that article has no credibility whatsoever."
Preacher said, "I don't think [the Cosmopolitan article] will affect my attitude. I already knew about that case … and I think I've known for a long time that Notre Dame needed to change its policies."
Besides Preacher's appointment, there are several other steps the University is taking to better assist victims of sexual assault, including: the creation of an advisory group to examine and review concerns for both the Notre Dame and Saint Mary's campuses; the publication of two brochures for better dissemination of information regarding du Lac policy and support services; and, additions to du Lac specifically outlining exemption from certain policy violations (such as parietals) in the case of a sexual assault.
"I think if I were doing my job well I would eventually eliminate my own job," said Preacher about sexual assault services' development. "I would like to get enough education out there and make people aware enough that we become an assault free campus. But for now, I see my office providing a space for students who have been assaulted to come in, get information, talk about it and I'll help them through the first part of the process."
All News Stories for Tuesday, March 6, 2001
