On Thursday, Oct. 27, in the Pfleeger Concert Hall, the Office of Student Equity and Compliance in collaboration with the Wellness Center, planned a Consensuality Workshop for students in honor of Domestic Abuse Awareness Month.
Tabling started at 5:30 p.m. where flyers, stickers, brochures and handouts were provided with information on where and how to report all forms of unwanted and nonconsensual contact. Other items like notebooks, water bottles, and hand sanitizer were also being given out at the various tables around the lobby.
The interactive discussion was supposed to begin at 6 p.m. and last for two hours. It would include a talk on healthy relationships and violence being given by the two guest speakers, Stacey Rose and Eileen Caraker, with a gift card drawing to take place toward the end of the discussions.
According to program information for the workshop, speaker Eileen Caraker is a registered nurse of 30 years, a nationally certified Forensic Nurse, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner, the Gloucester County Sexual Assault Response Team Coordinator and Forensic Nurse Examiner Coordinator. Caraker is also co-chair for the Governor’s Advisory Council on Sexual Violence and is president of the NJ Intentional Association of Forensic Nurses.
The other featured speaker, Stacey Rose, has worked in higher education for over 12 years, eventually becoming a Title IX Educational Consultant and is currently working toward earning a Ph.D. in Widener University’s Human Sexuality program.
Unfortunately, the discussion part of the event had to be rescheduled for an undetermined later date due to low student attendance.
According to the Rowan University crime log, 14 reported instances of sexual assault and sex offenses have occurred within the community since August 2022, which Rowan University has said they are committed to the “prevention and adjudication of.”
Besides this particular event being rescheduled, there are other consent workshops planned for the spring semester as well. One is likely to take place in April to coincide with Sexual Assault Awareness Month, which will be coordinated with the Office of Social Justice, Inclusion, and Conflict Resolution. Another will be mandatory for all new Greek life to attend and participate in. The OSEC events page on the Rowan website provides for more updated information about dates and upcoming events.
The Office of Student Equity and Compliance is now located in Savitz Hall, Room 333. To report sexual harassment, assault or misconduct, go to the OSEC sexual misconduct page and click the red button at the top of the page to be taken to the reporting form.
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