Letter from the Opinion Editor

Content warning: This letter discusses sexual assault.

Today we are running two students’ experiences as survivors of sexual assault at Tufts. The first occurred in 1985.The second, in 2015. This issue is deeply entrenched in our culture and occurs in our very own community. Among respondents to the 2017 Tufts Attitudes About Sexual Conduct Survey, 32.3 percent of female and 11.4 percent of male undergraduate students experienced sexual misconduct during their time at Tufts. Many cases of sexual misconduct go unreported at the time of the incident, including the two stories we are publishing today. This problem existed in 1985 and will endure unless we, as a community, begin to acknowledge its repercussions and hold people accountable for their actions.

If you have questions about our coverage, please reach out to us at daily@tuftsdaily.com. In addition, here are several campus, local and national organizations that provide counseling and other resources for survivors:

Tufts Center for Awareness, Resources and Education (CARE) [Confidential] 617-627-5140 (Alexandra Donovan, director of CARE); oeo.tufts.edu/care/

Tufts Counseling and Mental Health Services [Confidential] 617-627-3360

Tufts Health Service [Confidential]  617-627-3350

Tufts University Police Department 617-627-6911 (emergency); 617-627-3030

Tufts Office of Equal Opportunity 617-627-3298; tufts-oeo.ethicspoint.com

Boston Area Rape Crisis Center [Confidential] 800-841-8371; barcc.org

National Sexual Assault Hotline [Confidential] 800-656-HOPE (4673); online.rainn.org

Sincerely, Deeksha Bathini Executive Opinion Editor