The Student Association (SA) hosted its annual Town Hall meeting in Cone Chapel on April 12. Approximately 200 students, faculty and staff attended the event and discussed concerns about sexual assault prevention as well as gender roles regarding spiritual leadership. Town Hall meetings are designed to be an open discussion among Harding students and the administration by providing a panel of faculty and staff from various aspects of student life.<\/p>\n
University Registrar Tod Martin, Director of Housing Cathy Allen, Dean of Students Zach Neal, Campus Activities Board Director Logan Light, Vice President of Finance Mel Sansom, Director of Public Safety Craig Russell and President Bruce McLarty formed the panel for the 2017 meeting.<\/p>\n
The first student to speak was junior Chloe Goodman, who addressed her concerns with sexual assault on campus and how it is presented to students. She argued that the Department of Public Safety portrayed an inaccurate message advertising its women\u2019s self-defense classes during Sexual Assault Awareness Week with posters reading, \u201cDon\u2019t be a victim!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis victim approach is inappropriate with Sexual Assault Awareness Week because it perpetuates not only the idea that we are responsible for not being raped, but that if we are raped, it will be in a context in which we will have the compulsion to physically fight back. It perpetuates the idea that assault and perpetual assailants are jumping out from behind the bushes,\u201d Goodman said. \u201cSexual Assault Awareness Week should be about teaching people not to assault others and should be about changing the culture we live in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Neal and Russell acknowledged the \u201cunintended consequence\u201d of the public safety campaign. Russell apologized for the miscommunication and stated that public safety is constantly looking for ways to make campus safer. Neal encouraged students to express suggestions to the Office of Student Life.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Sexual Assault) Awareness month is actually a springboard to find out what you think will be best,\u201d Neal said. \u201cMy opinion would be that we intended to not have a specific plan \u2026 before we actually raised awareness to bring people\u2019s voices in a stronger way. … I think this is the start of a conversation, not the end of a conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n
The latter majority of the meeting consisted of several students expressing concerns within Harding\u2019s gender policy in spiritual leadership. Senior Sarah Roe introduced the topic, commenting on the prohibition of women reading Scripture during the Transforming Word of God event hosted by the SA on April 10.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are seeking to understand and discuss the decision not to have women read,\u201d Roe said. \u201cThis decision did not seem consistent with other practices on campus, such as women reading in Bible classes or chapel programs involving women.\u201d<\/p>\n
McLarty apologized to the student body and said he made the decision to not allow women to speak because he was unsure of the context of the new event.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first thing I want to say is, my bad,\u201d McLarty said. \u201cThis is me, and this is where the buck stops, and this is where what happened, happened and why it happened. \u2026 Having not seen what it was, I made the wrong call, and the next time we do this, I think students of both genders will be free to read in something like that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Junior Connor Botes responded in questioning the clarity of rules of the university presented to students. He said the university\u2019s statement regarding male spiritual leadership is unclear and requested a more formal and direct statement be provided by the university. Several other students addressed similar concerns regarding misogyny and open door policies.<\/p>\n
According to McLarty, Harding\u2019s identity and policies are determined by the Board of Trustees, who are willing to listen to student concerns. He said students volunteer to be part of the university and its identity when they choose to enroll at Harding.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe identity of the university is not up for a vote,\u201d McLarty said. \u201cThe board is free to say, \u2018This is who we are, this is where we stand.\u2019 \u2026 Universities by their nature are very slow to change. \u2026 There has been a lot of change (in the university) because of just by being aware, responding, listening (and) adapting in the important ways, and then there are some things that don\u2019t change, and I guess that\u2019s the trick of it all.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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