Student Assembly

Dear President Skorton,

I would like to communicate Resolution 23: Sexual Violence Discussion to you. This resolution was co-sponsored by the SA’s Women’s Liaison and VP for Outreach, Yamini Bhandari, and Executive Vice President, Juliana Batista.

The resolution calls for more teamwork between administrators and students to evaluate Cornell’s progress, and future initiatives, related to sexual violence prevention. Representatives supported this resolution, stating that by coordinating these efforts, we are likely to see better results. Many students and student organizations are invested in these issues, and would be eager to participate with the administration more directly. As Dr. Melanie Boyd, PhD, mentioned at the October meeting of the CSVP, in order for these initiatives to succeed, there must be a positive culture change within the student population. Partnering with students more directly, the sponsors believe, would be the best way to achieve this.

The resolution also calls for the SA’s Women’s Liaison to create a yearly event between administrators and student organizations to discuss and collaborate on these efforts. Pending approval, this will be incorporated into the SA’s documents to ensure the longevity of such a program.

I have included Susan Murphy, Mary Opperman and Nina Cummings in this email because of their involvement with the Council on Sexual Violence Prevention. The resolution requests that in the future, the Women’s Liaison of the Student Assembly be offered a seat on the Council. For some context, I am currently a member of the CSVP, representing undergraduates and Narda Terrones ‘14, a former Women’s Liaison, served on the CSVP until she graduated last May.

The resolution also requests meeting minutes be sent to relevant parties, but they are posted online. Alternatively, I would like to suggest that more energy should be spent informing students that this information is available.

I hope that such a partnership between students and administrators can help us reach a common goal of making Cornell a safer campus.

Thanks for your time and consideration.

Best, Sarah