Wednesday, November 10, 2021
The Villanovan | 3
NEWS
University Releases Sexual Violence Climate Survey The email also contained instructions for students who wished to complete the survey. Students were encouraged to complete the survey in a private space. On Oct. 26, University In addition, the email advised President Rev. Peter M. Donohue, students to not share the unique O.S.A., PhD sent an email to all survey link or give anyone access undergraduate, graduate and law to a Villanova email account. Parschool students requesting them to ticipants were also advised to close complete the University’s Sexual their web browser when the survey Violence Climate Survey. Faculwas completed. ty and staff were also invited to The survey contains five take part in the survey. sections including four core secThe survey assists the University’s tions and one that is randomly administration in assessing the en- assigned. Students can expect to vironment on campus surrounding take between 15 and 30 minutes to incidents of sexual violence. It was complete the survey depending on first sent out to students in 2015 the length of their responses. and then again in 2018. Due to the sensitive ques The survey was developed tions in the survey, students are no with EverFi, the corporation that required to answer all questions also provides first year students and may exit the survey if they with their Alcohol Education and have any discomfort while particiSexual Assault Education courses pating. prior to orientation. EverFi uti According to Ryan Rost, lized the White House Task Force the Title IX Coordinator, the to develop the survey. President University experienced an increase Obama signed in the force in in response rate from the 2015 2014 as a way to protect students to 2018 survey. In 2015, 30% of against sexual violence. undergraduate students participat In the email sent to all ed and in 2018 33% did. Rost is students, the Office of Strategic optimistic the trend will continue Planning and Institutional Effecthis year and the University will tiveness (OSPIE), emphasized that see an increase in the number of the survey is anonymous. OSPIE students who choose to complete also reminded students in the the survey. email how important hearing from EverFi advised the Universtudents is when addressing issues sity that any response above 20% such as sexual violence on camwill provide the administration pus. with reliable data. “By participating in this To hopefully increase the anonymous survey, you will number of students responses this provide critical insights to help year, the University utilized soprotect and support Villanova cial media accounts to spread the students,” the email read. “This word. It’s On Us Nova was one survey will allow Villanova to deInstagram account that partnered velop and enhance resources and with the University to promote the response efforts related to sexual survey. violence.” Rost explained that in Sarah Wisniewski Co-News Editor
September a focus group was conducted among students to enhance the survey this year. One of the key takeaways from the group was promoting the survey via social media. The Title IX Coordinator also explained that in past surveys there were patterns identified by the University. Among the trends seen was the common occurrence for first year students to have a negative experience. In the survey, experience can be defined as “non-consensual or unwanted sexual contact.” A time period known as the “Red Zone,” which refers to the first six to ten weeks students are on a college campus, was identified as time to be extra careful about. This time is nationally known as a more vulnerable time period for incoming students as they adjust to independence in college. In the 2015 survey results it was noted that 57% of experiences reported by females were from first year students. Other trends can be found in the reports, which are released for all University students or staff to read. The results can be found through MyNova. The University takes such findings and evaluates as much of the data as they can. Then the administration decides what resources they can provide or increase to address student concerns. Policies may also be added or amended in order to better the climate on campus. In recent years, the University has look closer at identifying which groups may be more at risk of having negative experiences. This includes the categories of gender, race, ethnicity and sexual
orientation. One of the many issues the University faced after the 2015 results were evaluated included individuals not telling anyone about their negative experiences. In order to address this issue, the Office of Health Promotion increased resources and prevention efforts. The office also worked with the Sexual Assault Resource Coordinator (SARC) to increase education and events for students. After these changes were implemented, in the 2018 survey, the school saw a decrease in female students who chose to not tell anyone of their experience. “We want to eliminate experiences of unwanted sexual contact within our community. But if they do occur, we do not want students to go through their healing alone,” Rost said. “We want an increase in confidence of survivors that if they tell someone about their experience, they will be supported.” Overall, the survey is one of the many ways for the University to hear directly from students. Rost encourages all students to participate regardless of whether they have personally been a victim of sexual violence. “This is one of the many ways students can have a voice as it relates to a very important topic nationwide and specifically at Villanova,” Rost said. “We want to hear their voice if they did not have an experience unwanted or non-consensual sexual contact, their voice is still important.” Any student who wishes to speak to someone or access on and off campus resources can visit www.villanova.edu/sexualassault or speak to a member of the SARC team.
University Welcomes New VP of Admin. and Operations Sarah Sweeney Co-News Editor Starting at the end of this month, the University will have a new Executive Vice President of Administration and Operations, Roger Demareski ‘91. He will succeed Kenneth G. Valosky ‘82, who is retiring after holding the role for more than 21 years. After graduating from the University in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Civil Engineering, Demareski served as a Senior Project Manager at Turner Construction Company. He later went on to receive an MBA from Seton Hall University in Finance and Financial Management Services, before becoming Associate Vice President for Administration there. He later moved to Princeton University, where he served as Assistant Vice President. He now comes to campus from Lafayette College, where he served as VP Finance and Administration. While at Lafayette, Demareski was responsible for auxiliary and business services, finance, facilities management, real estate development, sustainability, risk management and safety and secu-
rity. Among his most impactful contributions to the campus were the creation of a 10-year campus stewardship program focusing on IT and utility infrastructure, an updated campus space plan, improved campus services that increased offerings and reduced spending, as well as an improved campus safety and emergency preparedness plan. “Roger’s vast higher education experience and knowledge, coupled with his familiarity with Villanova’s mission and values, made him stand out among a very impressive group of national candidates,” University President Rev. Peter M. Donohue, O.S.A., Ph.D. said. “Roger will be an incredible asset to our senior leadership team, and I look forward to working closely with him in this role.” At Villanova, Demareski’s responsibilities as Executive Vice President of Administration and Operations will include overseeing the Universities administrative functions, as well as a wide array of key operational areas, comprising Facilities Management, Human Resources, Information Technology, Auxiliary Services, Public Safety, Emergency Management and Government Relations and
External Affairs. He will also join Villanova’s Executive Council and President’s Cabinet, where he will develop institutional-wide strategies for leveraging University resources in alignment with the University’s academic priorities, missions and goals. “I am honored and excited
to be coming home to the place that was transformational in my life,” Demareski said. “The opportunity to help Father Peter, his leadership team and the entire Villanova family elevate the University to even greater heights is one I happily embrace. I cannot wait to get started.”
Roger Demareski will be the new Executive Vice President of Administration and Operations. Courtesy of Villanova University
