Three speakers talked about prevention and assistance for victims

April is sexual assault awareness month and NECC welcomed three guest speakers on April 4 in the C building, lecture hall A, to talk about how the issue of sexual assault can affect us here on campus and what Northern Essex can do to help victims. Denis Champagne of the Amesbury Police Department, Kate Sanzo, the Adult Counselor and Outreach Speaker at YWCA, and Liz Trelegan the Title IX Investigator here at Northern Essex. The event began with a reminder that, according to Rainn.org sexual assault occurs every 98 seconds and that the intention for events like these is to encourage reporting and to give victims ready access to every resource available to them. The panelists talked about what consent is and Trelegan, the Title XI Investigator here at NECC, offered up the famous YouTube video “Tea and Consent,” which likens asking for consent for sex to be treated with the same rules as when you ask someone if they’d like tea.

“Northern Essex’s policy of consent is defined as informed, voluntary, and mutual and it can be withdrawn at any time,” says Trelegan. Kate Sanzo, the Adult Counselor and Outreach Speaker at the YWCA says that “consent has no gray area. “It’s Important to know that silence is not consent,” says Sanzo. She says they are moving from teaching “no means no” to a “yes means yes,” approach. Denis Champagne is a detective that works onsexual assault crimes for the Amesbury Police department, his mother also worked for the Salisbury Police Department for 20+ years investigating these crimes. Champagne’s concern is how sexual assault maintains being “one crime that’s still so underreported,” he says. Champagne says, “that’s why conversations like this are so important, we’re trying to open up doors (for survivors), this is not an easy conversation for anybody.”

Champagne’s training and relevant experience allows him to remove the “taboo” stigma surrounding sex crimes and he says he wants survivors to be able to come to him for help. “Are barriers coming down? They are,” he says, regarding the ways the police department has progressed in handling these crimes over the years. “Being open and available and having these conversations — being more visible,” is what helps bring in more victims willing to report, he says. When it comes to getting help for the victims Champagne says that “maybe the best thing for that victim isn’t prosecution.” He says that he’s ready to go at all times, in terms of prosecuting an abuser but he understands that avenue can be scary to victims. “I’ll do whatever you want, but you gotta talk to me,” says Champagne. His abundant resources and connections with various programs and groups are designed to help survivors even if they don’t want to report, he says. Champagne says that he can help with covering basic needs like shelter, food, childcare, transportation, even legal advice.

“Make them better today than they were yesterday,” he says. “My job is to do no harm, be there for them, and put them in contact with whatever agencies I can”, he says. Champagne says that these crimes are the biggest invasion to a human and that if he “can help a survivor get their life back, it’s the greatest reward in (his) field.” Sanzo works for the YWCA as a counselor and speaker. Sanzo says “the portrayal of mostly female victims (in the media) does significantly work against different members of our community” mainly victims that identify as LGBTQ or male. Which she notes as part of the reason for underreporting. Sanzo is part of a trained crisis intervention team, which operates as a 24-hour hotline to be available to victims constantly. Sanzo says they can aid in the process that comes with reporting, like being their moral support at the police station or at the hospital. “We can’t intervene, but we can be in the victim’s sight and just offer that comfort and that peace that they do have people on their side,”  says Sanzo. Sanzo says they can also refer lawyers, offer weekly or monthly check-ins, assist with emergency housing, along with workshops and trainings which aid in prevention.

When it comes to the process of reporting at NECC, Talgente says anyone can file a formal complaint, but it’s not a necessity for her to begin an investigation. Legally if she’s made aware of an allegation, even verbally, she and her department have to act. “We can provide the student with resources available in the college”, says Talgenete about NECC students that are survivors of sexual assault. NECC offers escort services, schedule accommodations, absence accommodations for court dates or medical appointments, they can even help if you’re suffering because of long-term absences says Trelegan. NECC also offers free mental health services on both the Lawrence and Haverhill campus. When reviewing cases where the perpetrator is a student, Talgente says they don’t look for violations of the law, but rather violations of NECC policy. So, they will use any and all evidence brought to them like texts or emails, but they cannot subpoena phone records says Trelegan. “We’re very open to hearing what students need and working around that,”  says Trelegan. “We don’t want people to leave school. We want them to stay and be successful and we want a safe environment, so we try to make accommodations for people to feel safe,” says Trelegan.

Public Relations class puts on annual event

Public relations students are gearing up for the fifth annual Speechapalooza on April 23rd, in Lecture Hall A. It’s a student-run public speaking event that is truly an exercise in free speech says Professor Amy Callahan. She doesn’t screen the speeches beforehand, but she says her students are free to run ideas by her. The students are encouraged to use this outlet to speak about what they like and what they are passionate about. “I wanted to do Speechapalooza because my students were doing such great work, I wanted more people to hear what they had to say” said Callahan. Organizing the event is mandatory for Callahan’s public relations class, but she attests that it has a “party atmosphere” because it’s run by students. “It can be very powerful, students’ topics can cover things like politics, climate change, even abuse” said Callahan.

Deidre Grant was the event’s audience-chosen winner last year, going home with a $25 Visa gift card for her winning Tweet.. Grant, also known as “Deidre Darling,” on YouTube, gave a speech about her channel at Speechapalooza. Her channel focuses on beauty and fashion, but she wanted to give an inside look at some of the intricacies of having your own channel. She talked about “stuff behind-the-scenes and even how I was unmotivated sometimes” said Grant. She didn’t prepare that much but Grant says talking about something you’re passionate about makes it much easier to get up in front of a crowd. Grant said she felt like she could be comfortable because she was at NECC with her peers, there were even some laughs.

Grant talked about the challenges when faced with group projects; the whole class participated in the coordination of Speechapalooza, and made decisions as a group. Grant said the event gives good experience in public speaking and in event planning. Grant encourages all students to go even if they don’t want to speak, just to watch. “There’s raffles, free pizza, a Tweet contest, it’s a good, coordinated event that makes people want to be involved with NECC” said Grant. Alexis Fontaine plans to give a motivational speech at this year’s Speechapalooza. “I’ve overcome a lot in my life, I want to share how I’ve gotten through that and continue to live positively” said Fontaine. She’s not shy about sharing her personal story, especially, she says, if hearing her speech will help someone else going through something. “Life is not about comparing our tragic [experiences] but about how we overcome them and move on” says Fontaine.

For those who aren’t natural extroverts like Fontaine, she gives advice in the form of a visualization trick. No, she doesn’t “picture the audience naked, that’s weird” says Fontaine. She says to visualize the person you want to be in the future and imagine them succeeding and then make that person a reality today. In tough situations she says, “I ask myself what the girl I want to be would do”.

Event was opportunity to network, get input from four-year schools

Northern Essex offered a chance for art and design students to meet with several different art and design 4-year colleges in the area. The colleges represented on Feb 16 were MassArt, Montserrat College of Art, Salem State University, Umass Lowell, New Hampshire Institute of Art, and Northern Vermont University. Apart from networking with the colleges, NECC students are given the opportunity to get input from these schools about their portfolios. Calum McDonald is a thirrd year graphic design student who attended the event and hopes to transfer to MassArt. McDonald says he was never good at math or writing and he just didn’t like school very much, but here at NECC his interest in his education spiked.

NECC offers an avenue into graphic design but he says you must be proactive to make the tools available here work for you. Specifically, he noted that at NECC there’s good physical space to work on your art and luckily, they keep the classes small so there’s lots of one-on-one, if you want it. NECC also creates exhibits showcasing students’ art. There is no lack of representation as an art or design student here at NECC. This helps transform students’ artistic dreams into realities.  McDonald called the visiting colleges event a “confidence booster” and motivation to continue working on his craft.

McDonald feared putting his whole life in debt to attend a 4-year school without knowing what he wanted to pursue. NECC gave him the opportunity to take the 1st step in college. “It’s an easy way to re-insert yourself into education” says McDonald. Northern Essex has a lot of professors that have also taught at 4-year schools. McDonald says “they build upon what they were taught” and help facilitate the transfer from a 2-year to a 4-year school.

Students can focus on building their GPA and gaining relevant experience to their field.  Chrissy Eichhorn decided this was the path for her as well. She’s a 2nd year student who’s 19 years old, she used the Dual Enrollment program here at NECC to supplement her college career. Eichhorn said that she has always liked art, that it has always sparked her interest more than other subjects. Her medium is different than McDonald’s, she prefers drawing and loves pastels.

Eichhorn says “sometimes you don’t like your work, you get stuck in a rut, but you get the best outcomes when you push your mind” and NECC offers students a place to expand their technique. She was excited for the visit from schools to show them the variety of her work and to gauge where she stands among other students. Russell Shoemaker, the Assistant Director of Admissions was here today representing MassArt. He works specifically with students looking to transfer which make up 27% of the student population at MassArt. Shoemaker said he looks for students that work hard and their portfolios should show it.

They should exhibit a love and passion for their work and for be willing to add outside exploration to their experience. MassArt stands out because they “offer a double-major, which is rare for art schools” said Shoemaker. Local Boston designer Erin Robertson graduated from MassArt with a double major in fashion and fiber art and went on to win the 15th season of ‘Project Runway’. Shoemaker says art and design transfer students can “have access to tools through the Academic Resources Center which hosts transfer events like community building and campus tours” which can help make the transition to a 4-year school seamless. The benefits of going to school at MassArt extend through finances so students can save money by transferring NECC credits and by relatively low cost-of-living in dorms and apartments on campus. Events like these help the students at NECC employ every opportunity for a smooth transfer to a 4-year university.