Op-Ed: Consent Is Swat

Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.

As party organizers from numerous groups across campus, we have joined together to encourage students to help build a safer community through organizing a week of consent workshops in conjunction with the parties. We have joined as group called Consent is Swat. These workshops will be held April 9-13.

As part of our commitment to promoting a culture of consent, we will ask students to obtain stickers from the consent workshops in order to gain entrance for themselves and two guests, Swarthmore students or otherwise, to party spaces on Saturday night. In addition, we will be providing forty “Consent is Swat” t-shirts at the top of Sharples from 4:00-7:00 on Saturday evening. These shirts will be first come first serve and only available to those who attended the workshops.

As a coalition of vastly diverse student groups, we have all chosen to participate in this initiative because we believe that the issues about consent affect our entire campus and each and every member of our community. We believe that there is an unhealthy silence around consent, and we hope that students will take advantage of these workshops in order to dispel some of this silence.

Whether or not you engage in sexual activity or attend parties, we still encourage you to attend one of the numerous workshops. The workshops will only last half an hour, and will hopefully affect crucial change in the lives of members of the Swarthmore community.

With several workshops throughout the week and ample space, we believe that many students will be able to attend a workshop, though if you cannot do so, we encourage you to contact us at nkerric1@swarthmore.edu. Similarly, please contact us with any other concerns you may have about this event.

As a group of concerned students, we believe that dialogue surrounding issues about consent are applicable to every member of our community. We feel that these workshops will not only contribute to creating a safer environment for students to socialize, but will take a step towards making the entire campus and entire community safer.

Schedule:

Tuesday, April 9 

1:00-1:30 p.m., Workshop (Lunch Provided), Big IC Room

Wednesday, April 10

12:30-1:00 p.m.,  Workshop (Lunch Provided), Big IC Room

7:00-9:00 p.m., Parlor Party, Shane Lounge

Thursday, April 11

7:00-7:30 p.m., Workshop, Scheuer Room

7:45-8:15 p.m., Workshop, Scheuer Room

8:30-9:00 p.m., Workshop, Scheuer Room

Saturday, April 13

4:00-7:00 p.m., T-Shirt Pickup, Sharples

9:00 p.m. – 1:00 a.m., Dry Space, Women’s Resource Center (Kappa Alpha Theta Takeover)

10:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m., Parties, Olde Club, Paces, Delta Upsilon

– Locations are subject to change

Signed,

Delta Upsilon Fraternity
Deshi
Drug and Alcohol Resource Team
Kappa Alpha Theta
Party Associates
Phi Psi Fraternity
Sexual Misconduct Advisors and Resource Team
Women’s Resource Center
SBC
Sexual Health Counselors
SQU Board
10 Inches party hosts
Gabe Benjamin ‘15
Joyce Wu ‘15