The Prospector (Helena, Mont.) 1916-2015, November 03, 2004, Image 2

FROM THE EDITOR A time for healing by Kayla Corrigan Editor My deepest sympathies go out to everyone who has been grieving since Fall Break this semester. Students have been thriving with mixed emotions due to tragedies on our close- knit campus recently. I would just like to offer my condolences and ask for everyone to try and begin the heal­ ing process instead of allowing the occur­ rences of this past month to keep us down. .It has been rather unfortunate that our campus has inadvertently been divided due to gossip that has spread rampant since break. It is of no fault to us as students that gossip has been occurring, we are not supposed to know how to deal with tragedies of this manner cor­ rectly from the start. But, now nearly a month later, it is time to let the gossip go and begin allow­ ing ourselves to heal. At a time like this, gossip is not what this college needs. Rather, we need to act like the educated individuals that we are and hold discussions and allow our feelings to come out in a form of healthy communication. Now, whether this be through discussion of feelings with friends, counselors, our reli­ gious leaders or even publicly is of no matter. What matters is that we allow our feelings to come for­ ward in more healthy ways than gossip. No matter where your personal opinions lie on the matter, each of us as a student here at Carroll ! College have suffered | great losses on both ^ sides of this current ° issue affecting our cam- .n pUS. % This open article to ^ campus is my way of opening my feelings to you about how I believe campus should be going about the healing process right now. And I ask that you do the same, it may not be in this same fashion, but I honestly believe that what our campus needs right now are healthy dis­ cussions on this controversial mat­ ter that has shocked us all. There needn’t be accusations in these discussions, just honest emotions that are naturally going to be con­ fused right now. So, please stop the gossip and let the healing begin naturally. Editor-in-chief T h e P r o s p e c t o r Editor in Chief Kayla Corrigan ' Desktop Editor Nicole Greff A student publication of Carroll College Interns Linsey Lindgren Kevin Shively Jed Fox Ashley Moore Joey Camozzi Advertising Directors Annie Heffelfinger Eamon Hansen Faculty Adviser Prof. Brent Northup Interns Katie Stiel Eamon Hansen Abby Kloker Jessica Cronnelly Staffers Elizabeth Swanson Chris Matrix David Rotness Keely Emrick Cathy Lauinger Tom Cotton Photographer/Photo Editor Katie Stiel All students of all majors and years can join the Prospector Staff. If interested in joining our staff, contact Editor Kayla Corrigan at 447-4521. The Prospector welcomes expressions of the views of its readers. Letters must be signed and must include the address and telephone number of the writer. Letters are subject to editing for brevity. HOW TO CONTACT US: Mail your letters to Carroll Prospector; Saints Central #251018; 1601 North Benton Avenue; Helena, MT 59625 or e-mail us at: prospector @ carroll.edu Letter to the editor Open communication to the students of Carroll Dear Editor: It is important for us as a com­ munity to reflect on how Carroll College can protect the environ­ ment for students who have been sexually assaulted to come for­ ward to report the incident. As a community, we need to move for­ ward in our efforts to support vic­ tims of sexual assault and to hold students accountable who have sex without consent: 1. Students need to understand that sex without consent is against the law and against college policy. 2. Students should go to the emergency room at St. Peter’s Hospital immediately after an incident of sex without consent to have a medical exam and have a rape kit conducted. 3. Students should utilize coun­ seling support. Carroll has an on- call counselor available 24 hours a day while school is in session at 949-4357 and who can also be contacted through the security desk at Our Lady of Guadalupe Hall, Community Living staff, or Health Center or Counseling Staff. The Friendship Center also has an on-call advocate for victims to call at 442-6800. Regardless of whether a student has gone to the hospital emergency room, counsel­ ing services at The Friendship Center are provided free of charge. 4. Students need to report inci­ dents to the police and to the col­ lege if the incident involves a Carroll student. As a Carroll community, we need to take steps to watch out for each other at parties, at off-cam- pus houses or apartments and in our residence halls. If you are not comfortable leaving a friend alone with someone of the opposite sex, do not leave the friend alone. If you see a friend who is consuming alcohol, do not let them compro­ mise their personal safety. Friends can be the biggest deterrent to stu­ dents finding themselves in a situ­ ation of sex without consent. When an incident of sex with­ out consent is reported, we need to strive to provide a supportive envi­ ronment for the victim as well as for the student accused of sex without consent. The decision made on one night in one incident with one individual can have life­ long conse­ quences for both students, their friends and their families. As a college community, we need to recognize that we all have the responsibility to protect the environment for students to report incidents of unwanted sexual con­ tact. No one should be deterred from reporting an incident to the police or to Carroll. All of us should support the legal system and conduct system to review the evidence that is not made available to the public. As hard as it may be to believe that sex without consent can hap­ pen, it does. We all know bad things can happen to good people. Every sexual assault survivor knows this statement to be true. Dr. Jim Hardwick Vice President for Student Life “Carroll has an on-call counselor available 24 hours a day...” Understanding all your I alternatives. 1 makes you Ü really free to choose. }ht Kale««** Inc, 443-0662 800 - 550-4900 Some decisions feel loo overwhelming to make alone. What to do in the event of an unplanned pregnancy is one of them. Birthright of Helena is here to help, we offer free pregnancy testing, confidential assistance, and most importantly, someone to talk to. Please call us at 443-0662, or visit us at 543 N, last Chance Gulch in the livery square Building, Suite 206. i w jjni/jlioo is i w m m mxd iJ »«tomtits and trulciwto w t i ’ &gy tMscv WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2004 VOLUME 88, NO. 2