Dean of students Gail Zimmerman said the issue of cat calling and slut shaming is a concern.
“We have to work hard at communicating civility and respect on and off campus,” she said.
Zimmerman said she was struck by the fact that so many of these incidents had occurred to KSC students. She said she is aware that there are issues to work out with the city of Keene, but said she believes it is more of a student-to-student issue. “We have to have more control over that,” she said.
She said that some students tend to “stay silent” when it comes to equality awareness on campus. “We need to work on how to make those students more aware,” she said.
As for the drop in LGBT students that felt as though they belong on campus, Zimmerman said she would like to know what changed between 2011 and 2014.
“It’s disappointing to see the decrease in numbers,” she said, “we haven’t drilled into the reasoning yet, but the goal is to increase those statistics.”
She said she was pleased with the increase in statistics of students of color who felt welcome at KSC.
“I wish all of the numbers could increase,” she said.
Zimmerman said she will work to make everyone feel welcome at KSC.
“We can’t let our guard down … we have to keep working on outreach, education and response. [KSC] needs to be aware of the issues that are going on and respond to them the correct way,” she said.
She said she believes that every individual on campus has a responsibility. “Everyone should know their responsibilities to make KSC a welcoming environment,” she said.
She said it is important for students, faculty and staff to be able to “call out” something that is “not right” on campus.
In the future, Zimmerman said it is important to promote events “that will foster appreciation for diversity.”
“We’ll be looking at programs at orientation and how to expand them throughout the year so it’s not just a one and done type of deal,” she said.
“There are posive aspects to this survey,” Zimmerman said, “and that is to be celebrated.”
Mackenzie can be contacted at mclarke@kscequinox.com
