Features

Rape Culture at UMass

November 29, 2012

With word spreading of the alleged rape that occurred in a Southwest dormitory on Oct. 13, students like University of Massachusetts, Amherst, junior Megan Hatz, have overheard groups of people talking about the incident. "There is a common misconception that the victim deserved what happened to her because she was asking for it," she said.

What many UMass students may not realize is that there are resources on the UMass campus that offer support and education regarding the issue, especially the specific issue of blaming the victim.

Jill Grimaldi, instructional designer and educator at the Center for Women and Community at UMass, is responsible for creating and organizing presentations and workshops for students and survivors of violence in the five college area as well as the whole Hampshire County area. Grimaldi said, "Questions like this- such as, did the victim deserve it- are commonly asked in our society and they do real harm to survivors of sexual assault, causing them to feel guilt and shame around the crime that was committed against them. Our education aims to give people the tools to discuss sexual and relationship violence in a productive way, that leads to effective cultural change and does not hurt survivors."

The Center for Women and Community, often referred to as the CWC, is an important organization at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, as it is the only multicultural campus-based center at UMass that offers educational opportunities to the public to learn about sexual assault prevention and address problematical attitudes and behaviors about victims and survivors of violence.

Becky Lockwood, associate director of rape crisis services at the CWC oversees leadership opportunities, such as organizing awareness meetings, and promoting advocacy programs to help spread awareness about the cause and impact of sexism and the multiple oppressions experienced by women. According to Lockwood, addressing the attitudes towards rape has become a major issue at UMass and other college campuses because of the misconceptions about what constitutes a consensual sexual experience.

After the recent alleged rape case involving four men who attacked an intoxicated UMass freshman female student, UMass junior Hatz from Fayetteville-Manlius, N.Y, said that she heard a group of people saying that if the victim drank to the point that she didn't know what was going on, then it was her own fault. Hatz said, "Justifying rape or any kind of violence for that matter by blaming the victim isn't right."

Lockwood's take on the uneducated talk going on around campus is, "The case is becoming more a guessing game for students- trying to figure out who the victim is and how much she drank. No one is questioning if the four boys who attacked her were trying to get her drunk and take advantage."

These types of uneducated conversations is what the community education office at the CWC aims to change. The CWC puts together workshops that are led by educated volunteer facilitators and help spread awareness about rape within the community.

Lockwood said, "I think our culture today contributes to creating women and girls as a commodity. Everything from dumb blonde jokes to if a group of men whistles at a woman when she walks by."

Lockwood has worked at the CWC for 11 years, and for a while, said she felt like the Dean's office at UMass totally ignored talking about issues that definitely occur at UMass, including relationship violence, rape, and sex in general. Lockwood said, "I am happy to say that I am seeing a change in the attitudes of the administration staff.  For a long time it felt like no one wanted to talk about it, because to talk about it is to acknowledge that it is happening on campus."

The CWC reaches out to students in hopes of changing the way the demographic responds to sexual attention. For example, Lockwood mentioned that many men in their early twenties will refer to having sex as "slamming, hitting it, or getting some," all terms that contribute to the idea of women becoming commodities, not people.

Grimaldi said she is most passionate about what she considers to be the most effective of services at the CWC, which is the annual basic training within the residential life staff. The CWC works with campus dormitory security on issues related to sexual assault and relationship violence and provide students, faculty, and staff serving on judicial boards trainings with the Dean's office and the University of Massachusetts Police Department.

UMass junior Emma Bound works as a security monitor in the Southwest dormitories on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Before starting work, Bound was required to attend a workshop with the CWC and UMass Police Department. It was during the session that Bound said she realized the significance of her position and the responsibilities she had.

Bound said the workshop taught her what to do in suspicious situations. “They brought to my attention something I see almost every night but never paid much attention to, like if a girl who is clearly intoxicated is trying to get into the dorm with a boy…it doesn’t hurt to remember their names, or to pay extra attention to their speech and the body language going on,” Bound said.

In these cases, Bound was instructed to report any distrustful behavior to nearby security guards or police men, which are now placed in every Southwest dormitory on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights from 8 p.m to 2 a.m. “I know a lot of people get annoyed by the long process of trying to get into their own dorm, but I have personally seen the system prevent a lot of harm, like drunken strangers trying to get into the wrong dorm at night.”

Outside of UMass, the CWC participates in a 5 college group called the 5 College Sexual Assault Prevention & Intervention Committee. This segment of the CWC organization brings together educators and administrators from the 5 Colleges to discuss effective prevention and response strategies. “But it's most important to reach out directly to students who hear and talk about victim rape all the time,” Grimaldi said.

One of the most relevant things that the CWC educates people on is victim blaming. Lockwood said that "when a person begins to spread the thought process of wondering if the victim lead their attacker on, or questioning why the survivor was drunk and asking for it, this is where dangerous misconceptions develop that affect our culture."

The CWC offers a wide variety of diverse programming, including a teen counselor who offers support to student survivors through a program called the "Specialized Teen Services" program, and a more community based educate service called the "Rural Educator Program" which brings education and resources to people living in the rural communities around Amherst, as well as a "Latina Educator" who offers the education offered at the CWC in Spanish to people in the Pioneer Valley.

A Review of Judy's Restaurant, Amherst, MA 

November 15. 2012

A recent shopping trip to the center of Amherst, Mass. worked up my appetite for good Italian-American food. Luckily, Judy's Restaurant was conveniently located right in the heart of the town. Judy's is a fun, homey place to eat for those with a hearty appetite.

The small restaurant serves great food for students, families, and people of all ages. 

Whether at the bar or tucked in a comfy corner of the restaurant, you'll see colorful artwork including several paintings done by local artists for sale.

The food at Judy's is delicious. My order of the Mediterranean Salad is a pile of fresh greens and spinach leaves topped with spiced chicken strips, calamata olives, artichoke hearts, red and green peppers, corn and cucumbers tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. Each dish is served with a large piece of french bread to top off the meal.

While a friend opted for something with more of  home-made taste with the Pasta Carbonara. Sauteed chicken strips and smoked sausage filled a plate of bacon and peas on top of fettuccine pasta and cheese ravioli, mixed in a delicious Garlic Cream Sauce.

The large portioned meals are priced appropriately and will leave you with no room for dessert- but if you get the chance, be sure to try a piece of the made-fresh-daily mudslide pie. Two warm Tollhouse cookies make up the pie crust of this decadent indulgence.

Judy's in Amherst Review: 5 Thumbs Up! 

Maria Sacchetti Visits UMass

October 4. 2012

Reporters should be relentless yet polite, Boston Globe immigration reporter Maria Sacchetti counseled students on a recent visit to her alma mater, the University of Massachusetts.

"Do it graciously, it'll get you to where you want to be," Sacchetti, who graduated from UMass 20 years ago,  told Journalism 300 students during a visit to class. Sacchetti returned to campus to take part in an All Star Alumni panel sponsored by the Journalism Program on Wednesday.

Born and raised in Lawrence, Mass., Sacchetti studied economics and Spanish at UMass Amherst before going on to graduate school at the University of Texas. Though she said she feels well-educated, Sacchetti said that she feels UMass fell second-rate to the University of Texas as far as facilities go and the number of books and journals available.

At first, Sacchetti was rejected from all of the graduate schools she applied to. “University of Texas said no, and as crazy as it sounds I appealed it. Never be afraid to do that,” Sacchetti said, “because I ended up getting wait-listed, and then they let me in. You just have to keep pushing past the barriers.”

In addition to putting in many hours at UMass’ Daily Collegian newspaper, Sacchetti worked with several interning programs, including some that she said she wasn’t very fond of. “Once you accept an internship, then you see if you like it. Writing is what gets you into it, but I love reporting. You have to do some things you don’t really want to do to get to where you want to be.”

Sacchetti was persistent in her hopes to become a journalist. She attended job fairs and recommended to students that, “you cannot miss the Unity Job Fair. If there is one job fair you don’t want to miss, this is it, even if you don’t want to go.” The Unity Job Fair is a yearly convention that allows both aspiring and established journalists to engage with one another and connect with the media.

While on attending a job fair in California, Sacchetti gave her information to one of the Boston Globe’s editors. She said, “I didn’t even want to be there, I wasn’t dressed in a suit…but I gave him my information and the next thing I knew, I was on a plane!” This is when Sacchetti returned to the East Coast to pursue a job at the Globe.

In 2010 Sacchetti was offered an opportunity to travel to Haiti and report on the earthquake.  Sacchetti was sent with an intern and a translator from the Boston Globe and said they were able to take very minimal. “We brought bread and peanut butter. You can survive on just that…so I’ve been told.”

When asked what her friends and parents thought about her traveling to report on the disaster in Haiti, Sacchetti said, “I think of them and that’s why I don’t take huge risks. My father would say, ‘you know, you don’t have to go, they aren’t making you.’ But it is about you, your priorities…it can be a very unpredictable career.”

Sacchetti said that her experience in Haiti was by far the most terrifying of all her travel reporting. “There were dead bodies lined on the streets. People thought those taking the bodies away were doing something suspicious, but it was really just a huge health risk.”

When asked for her advice for future journalists, Sacchetti said, “Don’t be afraid to mess up. I made mistakes while working at the Collegian but I learned from those mistakes. College is the time to do that.”