I would like there to be a box for Barnard students who have been raped or physically abused to submit letters they have written about their experiences. The letters could be used as an informal "report" to Security to counteract the idea that no rapes occur at Barnard. Rapes do occur here, and something should be done about it. I know several students who have been raped and who would participate. It would serve to bring more awareness to the campus.

We talked this idea over with Jan Holland, Director of the Rape Crisis/Anti-Violence Support Center for Barnard and Columbia. We all think it’s a great idea, and we are considering what would be the best method for publicizing these letters. Some of the options include: posting them on a bulletin board outside the Rape Crisis Center, posting them on the Rape Crisis Center’s website, or collecting them and publishing them in a journal to be distributed around campus. Anonymous letters cannot be used for reporting to Security, but would be documented by the Rape Crisis Center, and would be a valuable tool for getting the word out about sexual assault and abuse among students. We are still in the early stages of discussing this, and hope to have something in place early next semester. We encourage all Barnard and Columbia students who have comments, questions, or suggestions to drop them in the envelope outside our office at 135 Hewitt, or to visit the Rape Crisis Center located at 123 Brooks. You can also call the Rape Crisis Center at 854-4366 or visit their website which offers an anonymous e-mail address for correspondence. At this time, letters received at the Well-Woman office regarding personal experiences with sexual assault or abuse will be forwarded to the Rape Crisis Center. If you do submit a letter, please make a statement granting permission to the Rape Crisis Center to publish it. If no statement is included, the letter will be kept confidential. Please be aware that the Rape Crisis Center offers confidential peer counseling (at 854-HELP) and 24-hour peer advocacy (at 854-WALK) for students who have been sexually assaulted, physically abused, or who have survived any other form of harassment or violence. Thank you for your concern and for your ideas.