+
NEWS
KANSAN STAFF >> YOU NEED TO KNOW
NEWS MANAGEMENT
Editor-in-chief Katie Kutsko
Managing editor Emma LeGault
Engagement manager Will Webber
manager Miranda Davis
KANSAN.COM/NEWS | THURSDAY, NOV. 5, 2015
Advertising director Emily Stewart
ADVERTISING MANAGEMENT
Sales manager Sharlene Xu
NEWS SECTION EDITORS
News editor Allison Kite
Associate news editor Kelly Cordingley
Sports editor Scott Chasen
Associate sports editor Christian Hardy
Arts & culture editor Vicky Diaz-Camacho
Associate arts & culture editor Ryan Wright
Opinion editor Anissa Fritz
Visuals editor Hallie Wilson
Chief designer Jake Kaufmann
Chief photographer James Hoyt
Features editor Kate Miller
ADVISER
Sales and marketing adviser Jon Schittt
Center, 1000 Sunnyside Avenue Lawrence KS. 66045
The University Daily Kansan is the student newspaper of the University of Kansas. The first copy is paid through the student activity fee. Additional copies of the Kansan are 50 cents. Subscriptions can be purchased at the Kansan business office, 2051A Dole Human Development
The University Daily Kansan (ISSN 0746-9467) is published on Mondays and Thursdays during the academic year except fall break, spring break and exams. It is published weekly during the summer session excluding holidays. Annual subscriptions by mail are $250 plus tax. Send address changes to The University Daily Kansan, 2051A Dole Human Development Center, 1000
Sunnyside Avenue.
KANSAN MEDIA PARTNERS
Check out KUH-TV on Wowl of Kansas Channel 31 in Lawrence for more on what you've read in today's Kansas and other news. Also see KUH's website at kuh.tv.
KJHK is the student voice in radio.
Whether its sock 'n' roll or reggae,
sports or special events,
KJHK 90.7 is for you.
2000 Dole Human Development Center
1000 Sunnyside Avenue
Lawrence, Kan. 66045
editor@kansan.com
www.kansan.com
Newsroom: (785) 766-1491
Advertising: (785) 864-4358
ENGAGE WITH US »
ANYWHERE
@KANSANNEWS
/THEKANSAN
KANSAN.NEWS
@UNIVERSITY
DAILYKANSAN
CARE coordinator will work to connect victims of sexual assault to resources
MCKENNA HARFORD
@McKennaHarford
After a decade of of helping survivors of sexual trauma at the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center, Merrill Evans brings a new perspective to the University discussion of sexual assault as the new Campus Assistance, Resource and Education, or CARE, coordinator.
The University CARE coordinator position was established last year to help students who have been sexually assaulted. It has been open since Sarah Jane Russell, the previous CARE coordinator, left in August. Evans started training last week.
The CARE coordinator position is a mixture of advocacy, education and preventative work, Evans said. She said she will work with students to help connect them with resources, like counseling and investigating. She will also work with existing sexual assault education and prevention programming, including being in charge of the CARE advocates program.
"I think the fact that I have such extensive training and treating sexual assault victims will kind of frame where I'm
Evans said that having access to a confidential resource can help survivors regain control by giving them help that won't force an investigation.
coming from," Evans said. "I'm not coming from an administrative perspective, I'm coming from a clinical, survivor-centered focus."
The CARE coordinator is not required to report possible sexual assaults to the University, unlike most other KU employees. The University made that decision so students could feel more comfortable going to the CARE coordinator and talking about their experiences with sexual assault or harassment and Evans can help direct them, said Jenny McKee, program coordinator for the Health Education Resource Office at Watkins Health Center.
"The more people that feel comfortable coming here, the more services and resources [Evans] can provide," McKee said.
"Any individual can come in and tell me things, and it won't leave these walls if that individual doesn't want it to," Evans said. "They are the ones who get to decide who has access to their information."
Evans will partner with community resources, like the Sexual Trauma and Abuse Care Center, and on-campus offices that have been addressing sexual assault, like the Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access, McKee said. The offices will put on programs, including Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, and it will allow offices to refer students to the CARE coordinator.
Text messages are rarely sent, and only in situations that require immediate attention from all students, like the alert that went out last fall when the masked man was apprehended. School cancellations and public safety matters constitute a text message, Barcomb-Peterson said. Emails frequently accompany a text message.
Evans said that right now she's focusing on building relationships with the partners and getting to know the campus and her position.
"I want to meet with people and know what they do and form relationships with them [because] this is a difficult conversation, and I imagine that there's going to be a lot of times where there's conflict or conflicting sides," Evans said. "So if I can have relationships with people before that happens, that is really my goal."
"We're hoping to increase the number of students Merrill will meet with," McKee said.
"I want the students to know that I'm totally accessible," Evans said. "I have an open-door policy."
She said she also hopes to do some outreach on campus and within the community.
Barcomb-Peterson said the type of alert used depends on the situation. Alerts on Twitter and posted on the website are used when the situation is not an extreme emergency, such as the campus-wide power outage earlier this semester.
Merrill Evans is the CARE coordinator for sexual assault and harassment programming for student events. Evans is also in charge of getting resources to victims of sexual assault.
How the University sends alerts in emergencies
ALEX ROBINSON/KANSAN
PAIGE STINGLEY
MCKENNA HARFORD
@paigestingley
@McKennaHarford
"Once an incident occurs,
Barcomb-Peterson is part of the decision-making team in the Office of Public Affairs that determines if an alert should be sent out, who it should be sent to, and what medium should be used to send it. Alerts can be sent through Twitter, the KU Alerts website, a text message or an email.
Last fall, when a man in a Guy Fawkes mask protested on campus, an alert was not initially sent out, which was concerning for many students who learned about the situation from social media.
The incident didn't rise to the level of concern that the University needs to send out an alert, said Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, director of news and media relations. At the time, Jack Martin, the former director of strategic communications, said that to send out an alert, the University needs to be either looking for information in connection with a crime or there needs to be an immediate threat to safety.
KU Alerts is the main source of communication between students and administration when an incident occurs on campus that needs immediate attention. Staff members in the Office of Public Affairs are informed when something is happening on campus, and it is their job to contact those who need to be notified. Information can come from the Public Safety Office or campus administration.
there is a discussion within the [Public Affairs] office to decide whether or not we need to send out an alert," she said. "If we are getting information from PSO, we're looking to see if there is immediate action that needs to be taken before we send out an alert."
Barcomb-Peterson said that
if the power outage had been limited to one or two buildings, an alert or tweet would not have been posted because the situation was localized. When it turned into a campus-wide situation, it became necessary to post the alerts.
we're looking for is how much of campus is being impacted, because that's something that will go on an alert page." Barcomb-Peterson said. "If it affects the whole campus, we'll put an alert out and probably a tweet, but if it's a localized location, or something that doesn't affect a lot of people,
"Once Public Affairs is aware of the incident, the first thing
Text message alerts issued since 2013
ALLISON KITE/KANSAN
Graphic represents the total number of text message alerts issued to KU students and employees since 2013, in four categories — weather-related, information about public safety, system tests and follow-up messages when people are no longer in danger.
MATTIE RHODES CLOTHING DRIVE
Benefitting Mattie Rhodes Center & Randall Elementary
November 5-11
Clothing Needed High School Age: Fall and Winter Apparel (socks, sweaters, jackets, gloves, scarves, pants, etc) Elementary School Age: (5th and 6th grade) socks and underwear
Drop-off Locations
Daisy Hall Commons (Nov 5-8), Corbin Hall (Nov 5-8)
Oliver Hall (Nov 5-8), Chi Omega Sorority (Nov 5-11) Twente Hall (Nov 5-11)
Contact
Drew Belanger
dbelanger@ku.edu
KU adopted a text message
we probably won't put an alert out."
SEE ALERTS ON PAGE 6
ÿ
BOTTLENECK
THIS WEEKEND
FRIDRY, NOV 6
VANESSA CARLTON
JOSHUA HYSLOP
THURSDAY, NOV 8
HEARTLESS
BASTARDS
SLOTHRUST
SATURDAY, NOV 7
RUSTED
ROOT
DEVON ALLMAN
BAND
SUNDAY, NOV 8
SMACKDOWN
TRIBIA
FREE POOL AND S1 DOMESTIC MUGS FROM 3-8PM DAILY!
UPCOMING SHOWS
NOVEMBER 10
THAT1GUY
NOVEMBER 11
PARQUET COURTS
LAZY
NOVEMBER 13
SOUL REBEL
AND THE
BEAST
STREETLEVEL
UPRISING
NOVEMBER T14
MOVITS
NOVEMBER 19
ANDREA
GIBSON
SHIRA
NOVEMBER 18
FREE SHOW!!!
BIG!
SOMETHING
NOVEMBER 19
ANDY FRASCO &
THE UN
AARON KAMM & THE ONE DROPS
NOVEMBER 20
TOKIMONSTA
LBIKEL147
DECEMBER 3
THE DELTA SAINTS
THE ROSELINE
FULL CALENDAR AVAILABLE AT
WWW.THEBOTTLENECKLIVE.COM