By Peer Advocates for Sexual Respect
(T.W. mentions of Sexual Assault, Rape)
“You don’t think it happens, right? You think Olin is a safe place. Sexual assault doesn’t happen here, because we’re all friends, all one big community. You know that one of us would never rape another one of us.” -Anonymous, “It Happens Here”, 2012 [1]
In 2014, the Peer Advocates (PAs) program was created as part of the AHS Capstone course after a student conducted a survey that confirmed what two Frankly Speaking contributors [1,2] had already said: that sexual assault does happen at Olin, and it affects the same percentage of our students as it does any college students in the country.
The PAs will be hosting our annual reflection and discussion of the ‘It Happens Here’ articles [3] in the Quiet Reading Room on Tuesday, April 7th, from 5:30-6:30 (huge shout out to the wonderful Librarians for letting us use this zen space for this event!). Jeanne Haley will be available in a nearby room for anyone who needs to step out to speak with a counselor.
As volunteer student support, Peer Advocates engage in routine discussion and training with campus and non-campus resources to help survivors navigate Title IX reporting and complaint processes. If you have any questions or concerns about Title IX, its benefits and drawbacks, deciding on whether you want to interact with it or not, or if you want support in doing so, please reach out to any of the PAs, and we would be happy to help! No issue is too small; we are here to help everyone.
The Spring 25 PA’s are:
- Anagha Babu (’26)
- Anika Kale (’29)
- Anna Holbrook (’26)
- Brandon Spiller (’28)
- Swasti Jain (’26)
- Tamas Regan (’28)
- Wren Yockey (’29)
The Peer Advocates (PAs) are an independent volunteer group focused on providing student-to-student support regarding sexual respect.
UWill’s Mental Health Crisis Line for Olin students: 833.646.1526
Support available 24/7/365 from a licensed counselor
Confidential or anonymous
[1] Original 2012 “It Happens Here” Article by Anonymous
[2] 2014 “It (Still) Happens Here” Article by Anonymous
[3] Olin College ‘It Happens Here’ website, includes collection of anonymously written articles
[4] 2014 “Sexual Assault at Olin”, includes published results of survey
https://franklyspeakingnews.com/2022/03/other-things-happen-too/
[5] 2022 “Other Things Happen, Too” by Anonymous
