SMART Board

Augsburg’s Sexual Misconduct Awareness Raising Team (SMART) wants to answer your questions about consent! We will be answering the questions bi-monthly in the ECHO.

Last year, we were asked “How prevalent is consent awareness in the Augsburg community?” so today that’s what we’re answering.

When thinking about this question, we wanted to reference the DPS Annual Safety Report for statistics of sexual violence on campus. According to the report, in 2016, five reports of sexual assault were made as was one report of stalking and one report of domestic violence. This information can be found on the DPS page of the AugNet website.

Augsburg’s sexual misconduct policy states that “consent requires words or overt actions by a person indicating a freely given present agreement to perform a particular sexual act with another person. Silence or the absence of resistance does not imply consent.” This information and more can be found on the Student Affairs page on the AugNet website.

As many of you know, incoming first-year students are now required to complete the “Not Anymore” online training on sexual assault, violence and other issues. This training is vital for all students coming into Augsburg. “Not Anymore” talks about the statistics surrounding sexual assault and violence, tells true stories and provides short bystander training. Students are tested throughout the training to make sure that they are absorbing what they are learning. This method of awareness in the community is vital. After students complete “Not Anymore,” they get multiple chances to have conversations with other students and leaders on campus to bring comfort to all. This training is very important for improving knowledge about sexual assault on campus. And of course, SMART is always on campus to raise awareness and provide understanding to any student who has questions.

If you would like to help work on the school’s policy or take the “Not Anymore” training, you can. Sarah Griesse works on the sexual misconduct policy every few years, and if you would like to help the school work on it, then contact Sarah at griesse@augsburg.edu. If you want to take the “Not Anymore” training, contact Ann Garvey at gravey@augsburg.edu Questions for SMART’s monthly column can be submitted to smarteam@ augsburg.edu. They will be printed anonymously and kept confidential.

SMART meets every other Monday in OGC 100 from 7 p.m.–8 p.m. and holds recap meetings in the Marshall Room during chapel time on the first Wednesday of every month. Keep an eye on their Facebook and Instagram pages for upcoming events. You can also email smarteam@ augsburg.edu to get on their email list.

This article first appeared in the Friday, December 15, 2017, Edition of The Echo.