Opinion: SGA missed the mark on apology for Sexual Assault Awareness Event

Courtesy of the WCU SGA public Instagram.

 Op-ed piece

On April 5, 2018, the Student Government Association (SGA) sponsored a “car smash” event on the UC lawn. The event was largely organized by Student Body president-elect Matt Opinski in part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. As students were passing by, they were invited to demolish an old, presumably broken-down vehicle with sledgehammers and spray paint. The event was advertised on Instagram as a way for students to “take out their frustrations about sexual assault.”

Many students were concerned that the display was violent, which seems to disregard the inherent violence of sexual assault.

“Honestly, someone explain to me how beating up a car with a sledgehammer says ‘Please don’t physically assault women’,” said senior, Christina Parker in a Facebook post published on the day of the event.

Parker is one of many students who took to social media to raise their concerns to SGA’s eyes. Comments on SGA’s Instagram that were critical of the event were almost immediately deleted by one of SGA’s account administrators.

I am frustrated that when SGA responded to those speaking out against them, they couldn’t even apologize for the right things. In an attempt to help all understand exactly what went wrong, I took the liberty of rewriting SGA’s apology to include what should have been said the first time.

“Western Carolina’s Student Government Association’s NEW AND IMPROVED Statement on the issues during and relating to the Sexual Assault Awareness Car Smash Event, April 5, 2018.

On behalf of Western Carolina’s Student Government Association, I would like to apologize for events relating to the car smash, the response SGA had to concerns related to the event, and for an SGA senator telling a participant to “pretend a guy is raping a girl and hit the car”. The car smash was organized without the aid of professionals who are educated in talking about the issue of sexual assault. SGA accidentally advertised the event as a way to “stop sexual assault”, but we meant to say that it was a way to educate students on sexual assault. The car smash was a provided medium for students to destroy an inanimate object without facing a penalty from the University. No donations were collected for sexual violence prevention and there was very little education on the issue of sexual violence at the event. All safety regulations set forth by the University were followed during the event.

As we continue to grow and try new things, we acknowledge that there is always room for improvement. Some of the feedback we received before turning off the comments on our Instagram page involved adding an actual education element in years to come. We plan to do just that. We also understand that hosting a violent event in which property was destroyed was a crucial mistake. Upon learning from concerned students that violence against property often used as a threat in abusive relationships, we deeply regret not further educating ourselves on the issue before hosting the event.

Additionally, we have received notice of several complaints in reference to one of our senator’s aforementioned remarks during the event. The exchange of words herein do not reflect what the Student Government Association stands for, or accurately represents the purpose of the event. Western Carolina’s Student Government Association as a whole has been misrepresented by this bad idea and the actions that took place during the event. I recognize that I do not need to apologize to the survivors of sexual assault, but to the entire student body for the miseducation and misrepresentation of what sexual assault awareness should be. We recognize that all were, in one way or another, negatively impacted by the choices made leading up to and during the event.

SGA will be reflecting on what we’ve learned collectively and individually from this experience. In the future, we will coordinate with Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and other sexual violence assistance programs such as R.E.A.C.H. of Macon and Jackson Counties to ensure that the awareness events we host are respectful and helpful to the entire student population.

“The Association is dedicated to serving the student body and improving campus life here at Western. We, as an organization, will continue to uphold ourselves to this at all costs.”

I want to thank everyone who has had the courage to call our organization up to a better understanding of our wrongdoing. This feedback enables us to continually excel and grow stronger as an organization, thus, allowing us to better serve the student body at Western Carolina University.

With deepest regrets,

WCU Student Body President-elect, Matthew Opinski

Edited by Drue Stinnett”

Drue Stinnett is a junior at WCU with a double major in Communication and Sociology. She is heavily involved in the WCU community as an RA and a leader of one of Western’s professional student organizations, PRSSA. She was compelled to share this opinion after the deliberate deletion of all critical comments by SGA from their social media and were neglectful in issuing an appropriate apology.