My name is Maya Cohen and I am a psychology and gender and sexuality studies major graduating in May of 2019. I’ve spent the last academic school year actively involved in sexual violence prevention on Tulane’s campus in organizations such as SAPHE (sexual aggression peer hotline and education) and One Love (a national foundation dedicated to ending relationship based abuse by providing warning signs of unhealthy relationships and promoting healthy relationships). After the Climate Survey Data Release Town Hall in January of 2018, there was a lot of conversations and overall feelings of hopelessness around campus. How could we possibly end sexual violence when the numbers are so high? While student voices became louder and administrators became active players around the topic, Meredith Smith – the title IX coordinator for Tulane University – has been working on different projects to end sexual violence already.
This summer I will be working with Meredith Smith to create curriculum for faculty to use during their TIDES classes to educate first year students about sexual aggression and work on tangible ways to note warning signs and promote healthy relationships. While Tulane has already taken monumental steps during orientation for first year students to recognize aggressive behavior, studies have proven that the best way to learn behaviors is not through a single day, few hour course but throughout a longer period of time in small increments. By creating usable curriculum for TIDES professors to include in their classes, even simply spending 10-15 minutes a week for the student’s first semester will be extremely beneficial.
Throughout the summer I hope to
- Deepen my understanding about the differences in sexual violence based on different identities (race, class, gender, sexuality, socioeconomic status) to create an inclusive and diverse set of curriculum and how to be a productive ally
- Develop my leadership skills by taking initiative on this project
- Work in an environment full of people who have similar interests to me and can teach me how to work with others and what to do when facing adversity.
- Connect to important references in order to hopefully extend my work with sexual violence prevention out side of Tulane’s community.
- Learn valuable research and development skills that I can take with me into the workforce.
Working on sexual violence prevention is something I am extremely passionate about and I am honored to be able to represent to Newcomb College Institute as I do so. NCI’s mission is to educate women for leadership in the 21st century. Meredith Smith has already told me she wants me leading this project on my own throughout the summer. While she will be there for support and to help me along the way, I am in charge of creating this curriculum on my own, finding articles to help educate the TIDES professors and students. This incredible opportunity will help me grow as a leader and my goal is that this curriculum will help empower Tulane students in the fight against sexual violence. Although we may not have control over what happens to us, by educating ourselves and our peers I hope to pave a better path for the future so that the #metoo movement remains a monumental turning point in history that no future generation should have to experience.
