Know Your Options
The walls are eggshell and the chairs are comfortable. In front of you is a trained specialist. Although many may come to talk about their feelings or their life decisions. It is however possible that students may come for a more serious issue. Counseling and Psychological Services or CAPS is a free facility at Montclair State University that is an aid for students who need to talk. Sexual assault is a serious action that should not be taken lightly. According to rain.org, “11.2% of all student’s experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation.” Sexual assault at Montclair State is not taken kindly and provides many resources for students in need of help.
MSU sexual assault policy holds high standards for students, faculty, and any of the surrounding communities that may be on campus. The red hawk campus’ policy can be found on the school website, it clearly states, “Sexual assault will not be excused or tolerated at Montclair State University. Existing criminal, civil and disciplinary actions will be enforced. In addition, the University has adopted measures to educate the campus community regarding sexual violence and instituted protocols to assist victims. Special emphasis is placed on the needs, rights and privacy of the victim and the rights of the offender. Montclair State University adheres to federal, state and local requirements for interventions, crime reporting and privacy provisions related to sexual assault” (www.montclair.edu). For example, SART policy specifically for sexual assault. The campus uses this to ensure the victim is safe and comfortable as possible after the attack. Educate students about sexual assault and keep them informed. In addition, making sure all students have access to the service the university offers.
SART (started in 2012) starts by taking a look at all cases individually. All cases are different so all cases cannot be treated the same. SART is 3 groups of people that can help the victim get through their attack. University police, forensic nurse, and rape care advocates are the 3 groups that make up SART. University police is on campus 24/7 and are an easy phone call away. Forensic nurses can be found at the health center in Blanton, and rape care advocates are known to be in CAPS next to Russ resident hall and John J. Cali School of Music. MSU clearly states, “Montclair State University SART can help a victim only if a member of the team is notified. Contacting Montclair State University SART does not mean someone has to be charged with a crime. It does mean that a victim will be offered appropriate care. Anyone can notify Montclair State University SART by contacting University Police or the University Health Center” (www.montclair.edu).
In the past year, Montclair State as had a handful of assaults committed. Every year the four-year intuition releases their crime statistics. In 2016, 5 forcible sex offenses, 2 of them which happened in resident halls. According to DoSomething.org, “1 in 5 women (20%) will be sexually assaulted while at college while only 4% of college men will be sexually assaulted.” In addition, “42% of college women who are raped tell no one about the assault.” These statistics alone keeps Montclair State on top of their programs, forms, and outreach about sexual assault.
In 2017, The Montclarion produced an article about how in the spring that there was 2 sexual assault attacks in one day. The Editor and Chief at the time, Deanna Rosa reported about the events and was sure to let the students and community of Montclair know about it. A Blanton Hall resident student reported the first incident. The student claimed it happen in the dorm and the incident was classified under “unlawful use of credit cards”. The second incident was different; it was off campus in the jurisdiction of Essex County. The case was not in town lines so the officer could not share any information. Deanna Rosa however did speak with the vice president of Montclair State University student involvement. Dr. Karen Pennington stated, “We aren’t afraid of high numbers here,” Pennington continued, “A lot of people think that schools want to keep the numbers of reports low. We don’t feel that way. I prefer those numbers to be high, because what that says is that students do feel comfortable reporting it.”
Reporting an incident is one of the most important things you can do when it comes to sexual assault. In recent month’s sexual assault as taken the world and Hollywood itself by storm. In early fall of 2017, Harvey Weinstein a known film producer was accused of sexually assaulting multiple actresses and other women in the film industry. Because of this big name producer doing such a nasty action, it as caused not only actresses but also everyday people to speak out about past incidents and encouraging others to speak out when something like sexual assault happens. It is important to know your options and to know there is always at least one person you can talk to if you are a victim of sexual assault.
Who to Contact
University Police
973–655–5222
University Health Center
973–655–4361
Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)
973–655–5211
LGBTQ Center
973–655–7916
Dean of Students
973–655–4118
Residential Education and Services
973–655–4155
Essex County Rape Care Center
973–746–0800
Passaic County Rape Crisis Services
973–881–1450
Rape Crisis Hotline
877–733–2273
