Talking Stick - November/December 2017 - 12

JUST IN

Calling All
Readers

#metoo
Survivor Support
With more than 850,000 appearances on Twitter and 4.7 million posts on Facebook, #MeToo went viral on social media
in late October. Created by activist Tarana Burke and emboldened by actress Alyssa Milano, the campaign creates space for
survivors of sexual violence and sexual harassment to make
their experiences public. As Burke told CNN, "On one side, it's
a bold declarative statement that 'I'm not ashamed' and 'I'm
not alone.' On the other side, it's a statement from survivor to
survivor that says 'I see you, I hear you, I understand you and
I'm here for you or I get it.'"
A 2007 study, The Campus Sexual Assault Study, found that
sexual violence is widespread on college and university campuses, with one in five women and one in sixteen men reporting an experience of sexual assault. Despite high rates of sexual
violence, many survivors may not talk about it; they may feel
alone in their experiences, and others may assume that sexual
misconduct does not happen in their communities. #MeToo
helped demonstrate the pervasiveness of sexual harassment
and sexual violence, as Facebook data shows that 45 percent
of people in the U.S. are friends with someone who posted
#MeToo.
#MeToo creates the opportunity for housing departments
to train staff on helping survivors of sexual violence. Research
has shown that supportive, empathetic reactions and referral
to support services help survivors feel cared for after disclosing their assault and that negative reactions can have harmful
effects on a survivor's healing and decision to continue seeking
support. Collaboration with sexual assault support services and
bystander education programs will also provide an opportunity
for housing departments to harness the movement of #MeToo
within their residence halls. 
-Katie Sorokas

TALKING STICK

This November and December, join the ACUHO-I
online community for
its second group reading
project. This time around,
participants will discuss
the book iGen: Why Today's
Super-Connected Kids Are
Growing Up Less Rebellious,
More Tolerant, Less Happy -
and Completely Unprepared
for Adulthood - and What
That Means for the Rest of Us by Jean M. Twenge.
Drawing from extensive research, this
book offers a compelling read and invaluable
information for anyone preparing to serve the
upcoming wave of students. As the book's
synopsis states, "With social media and texting
replacing other activities, iGen spends less time
with their friends in person - perhaps why
they are experiencing unprecedented levels of
anxiety, depression, and loneliness. But technology is not the only thing that makes iGen
distinct from every generation before them; they
are also different in how they spend their time,
how they behave, and in their attitudes toward
religion, sexuality, and politics. They socialize in
completely new ways, reject once sacred social
taboos, and want different things from their
lives and careers. More than previous generations, they are obsessed with safety, focused on
tolerance, and have no patience for inequality.
iGen is also growing up more slowly than previous generations: eighteen-year-olds look and act
like fifteen-year-olds used to."
The discussion will be moderated by Katie
Boone, an instructor at Cabrini University in
Radnor, Pennsylvania, and a member of the
ACUHO-I Research Committee. Join in the
conversation at http://community.acuho-i.org/
communities/community-home/digestviewer/
viewthread?MessageKey=0eebb289-3871-40a7-81ea1127226a400d&CommunityKey=a48527ea-cac84a28-bec4-3e58a6126d25&tab=digestviewer#bm0ee
bb289-3871-40a7-81ea-1127226a400d. 
-James A. Baumann

Talking Stick - November/December 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Talking Stick - November/December 2017