To the Editors:

On March 22, members of the Sexual Assault Support Team officially terminated the affiliated hotline, known as both the SAST hotline or the Peer-to-Peer Counseling Line. (The hotline counselors learned that a second vote was made deciding not to share this decision with us.)

Until this point in the semester, the hotline had been in temporary stasis with a message to redirect callers to the Lorain County Rape Crisis hotline.

The hotline had been suspended while SAST members and hotline counselors discussed problems, real and perceived, within the overall organization.

Monday’s decision formally terminated services unless and until all internal disagreements are resolved.

During the past few months, the past and current hotline counseling staff decided that, in the absence of an ability to resolve our differences with SAST in an amicable fashion, it would behoove us to seek status as an independently chartered organization.

It is at this moment unclear whether such an action will be possible this semester, as there are now very few counselors and the time and intricacies involved in chartering a new organization and applying for ad hoc funding are prohibitive.

Throughout the semester we have held the belief that we should be providing services to those who need them while continuously striving to improve those services, their accessibility and our relationship to the community.

SAST’s actions demonstrate that it disagrees with this belief.

A student-run, on-campus hotline provided unique services to the community. Our counselors had an understanding of those policies and services specific to Oberlin, which national and regional services are unable to provide.

While we are happy to have the Lorain County Rape Crisis hotline available with region-specific information, we believe that it cannot replace the services provided by Oberlin College’s own crisis hotline.

Over the course of the increasingly hostile discussions on this issue we are sad to say that both SAST and the hotline lost a number of valuable members.

We regret the loss of their talents and contributions. It is shameful that the environment was so unwelcoming that so many felt the need to leave.

We can only hope that SAST and the hotline will be able to work together more peaceably as separate entities in the future. We look forward to SAST’s next activities, undertaken without the shadow of this unfortunate ongoing argument.

We would like to redirect all crisis calls to Lorain County Rape Crisis, whose number is 1-800-888-6166.

Their service is a 24-hour confidential hotline providing services to people of all ages and genders. Services include counseling on sexual harassment, family sexual assault/abuse, sexual assault from strangers and date or acquaintance rape.

Through Lorain County Rape Crisis callers can access counselors, receive referrals for psychological counseling, medical and legal assistance and receive information about the Nord Center’s many programs.

The College and OSCA Sexual Offense Policy Advocates, the Sexual Information Center and Oberlin College Counseling Services remain, as always, excellent resources. (Note: SOPAs have a duty to report — they may not be able to keep some information confidential).

If you are interested in working with the hotline, helping the hotline become chartered, becoming a trained counselor or if you have any other concerns related to this topic, please contact: rtinkelm@ober-
lin.edu or lmckeeve@oberlin.edu.

–Lee McKeever
College senior
–Rebecca Tinkelman
College senior