Westminster College receives $300,000 grant

Aims to prevent sexual, domestic violence

Lacey
Lacey

Westminster College has received a $300,000 federal grant to enhance its services preventing sexual and domestic violence, according to Kasi Lacey, lead coordinator for the grant.

"The plan for the grant is to build on existing services," Lacey said. "We'll be able to better support student services and increase training."

The three-year "Every Blue Jay" grant, which was approved by the Office of Violence Against Women with the Department of Justice, will build on Westminster services to reduce sexual and domestic violence and stalking on campus.

"It is terrific big news for the college - one of only two colleges and universities in Missouri (to receive the grant)," Rob Crouse, director of Media and Public Relations, said.

Every college campus is required to comply with the Clery Act and prepare an annual campus crime report. Lacey said the report is available on the school's website. The current report, dated Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2016, lists two on-campus rapes (reported within student housing), down from five in 2015 and the same as in 2014. One incident of fondling was reported at Westminster in 2016 (none reported the previous two years).

Two rapes were also reported at William Woods University in each of the years 2016, 2015 and 2014, and the university had no reports of fondling.

In 2016, two offenses of the Violence Against Women Act were reported at Westminster: one for dating violence and one for stalking. In 2014, one dating violence incident was reported. No hate crimes were reported on- or off-campus during 2014-16.

"We're within the same range as other campuses," Lacey said of the statistics.

Westminster takes a multi-faceted approach to addressing sexual and domestic violence, according to Lacey, who is also associate dean of student life.

"We have to look at it as education, prevention and response and ensure we are delivering on those goals appropriately," she said. "This grant will greatly enhance these services."

The new grant money will allow for a new full-time employee on campus to focus on these issues.

"We're working on a job description now, but they will basically be a grant manager," Lacey said, adding they will be building deeper relationships with local law officials and service providers.

The grant also will allow for the purchase of a new online training module to educate students, faculty and staff, strengthen existing campus programs and student support groups, and build stronger relationships with community partners such as CARDV (Coalition Against Rape and Domestic Violence), law enforcement officials and a sexual assault nurse examiner who will conduct training at Westminster.

Currently, Westminster offers numerous educational and prevention services, primarily through the Wellness Center, to address these issues:

All freshmen students participate in the Green Dot Outreach Program, an international program of bystander intervention.

Campus speakers and events are scheduled during October for Domestic Violence Month and in April for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

All residential assistants, Greek leaders, mentors, Student Government Association members and other key campus leaders take training. Remley Women's Center interns educate students in prevention.

The Men Against Rape and Sexual Violence (MARS) organization provides education, and the college works in partnership with community action groups.

Lacey and Amanda Gowin, visiting instructor of health and exercise science, discovered this grant program at a meeting of Partners in Prevention, an organization of 21 Missouri schools involved in prevention. Lacey first applied for a grant in 2012.

She said getting this grant was team effort. All instrumental were Dawn Holliday, associate professor of biology and environmental science; Erin Martin, former associate professor of mathematics and physics; Gowan; and college grant writers McAllister, Quinn and Lacey.