{"id":13058,"date":"2014-10-21T17:46:40","date_gmt":"2014-10-21T17:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/advocacy-center-for-sexual-violence-comes-to-ualbany\/"},"modified":"2014-10-21T17:46:40","modified_gmt":"2014-10-21T17:46:40","slug":"advocacy-center-for-sexual-violence-comes-to-ualbany","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/advocacy-center-for-sexual-violence-comes-to-ualbany\/","title":{"rendered":"Advocacy Center for Sexual Violence comes to UAlbany"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By Janie Frank<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

News Editor<\/em><\/p>\n

theaspnews@gmail.com<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> The Advocacy Center for Sexual Violence at the University at Albany is a resource available to students as of this year.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> The director, Carol Stenger, is a sexuality counselor and educator. She has taught a human sexuality course for the past 20 years, and is known as the Sex Lady, a nickname she has embraced that UAlbany students gave her.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> Although eight of her fingernails remain unpainted, purple nail polish covers her left pinky and a purple ribbon is traced onto her right pinky. The purple nails are used to draw attention to the fact that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> \u201cPrevious to this, we did have services for sexual assault but they were run and operated out of the University Counselling Center,\u201d Stenger said.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> In 2013, Stenger began to act upon her realization that UAlbany needed a new resource center.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> \u201cWe visited another university\u2019s advocacy center. We talked to a number of universities. There aren\u2019t many,\u201d she said. \u201cMost schools don\u2019t have something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> A proposal was written to President Jones, requesting an advocacy center that students who had been affected in any way by sexual violence could use. The proposal was quickly approved and the Advocacy Center opened on Jan. 22 of this year.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> The Advocacy Center offers numerous options for students.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> \u201cThis is a one stop shop where students can get all different services that they may choose from to help them heal,\u201d Stenger said.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> The center is designed to feel like a living room with six blue armchairs surrounding a coffee table in the lobby. The room is covered in fall decorations, including gold and orange leaves and at least eight small pumpkins. The decorations are on bookshelves, desk, and the coffee table. A photo on the wall above one of the armchairs says, \u201cLet peace and peace and peace be everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> \u201cYou don\u2019t feel like you\u2019re in a clinical office. I wanted people to feel at home,\u201d Stenger said.<\/p>\n

Upon arrival, guests are asked if they would like a cup of tea or coffee.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> \u201cIt\u2019s not comforting to hold a styrofoam cup but it is comforting to hold this warm thing and just breathe,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t rush out there right away. Typically, we let students breathe and then we will meet with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> Instead of asking questions, the first thing those who work for the Advocacy Center will do is listen to the guest.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> \u201cEveryone needs a good listening to,\u201d Stenger said. \u201cWe don\u2019t usually get a good listening to in the world\u2026 You need someone to sit back and say, \u2018Tell me your story, I understand and I hear what you\u2019re saying.\u2019 If that takes three hours, that takes three hours and I\u2019ll sit here. If the person gets emotional, thats fine. If they want a breather or another cup of tea, that\u2019s fine. It sounds like such a little thing but it\u2019s huge for people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> Stenger explained that just listening to people can make them feel better.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> \u201cYou can see people\u2019s bodies relax visually. Not that it\u2019s over, but there\u2019s the sense that this heavy burden has been lifted.\u201d<\/p>\n

In order to make visitors feel more comfortable, those who work at the Center do not use the word \u2018should.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> \u201cEspecially in the case of sexual assault but even in interpersonal violence to a large degree, all of your control is taken away,\u201d Stenger said. \u201cI want to put the control back in that person right away. These are all your choices, these are all your decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> Those at the Advocacy Center never call the police or call a visitor\u2019s parents.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> \u201cAll the things that people might worry about, it is all up to you and I will not proceed without you requesting me to do something,\u201d Stenger said.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> Sexual assault, however, has a much broader term than many students may realize.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> \u201cMost people think sexual assault when they think of sexual violence and we certainly deal with sexual assault or rape\u2026 but we also deal with domestic violence which, on a college campus, we like to call intimate partner violence. We also deal with stalking of an intimate nature\u2026 It ranges from something very, very serious to something where their ex is just texting too often.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> The Advocacy Center is for more than just counselling or therapy. Those who work at the Center discuss the possibilities of health risks, including but not limited to STIs and STDs, inform students about drugs such as those that can protect against HIV, help students consider the option of pressing charges, and, in heterosexual situations, also consider the prospect of pregnancy.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/span> \u201cStudents can come in and meet with me around any issues they\u2019re having with sexuality. Maybe they\u2019ve been diagnosed with an STD and they need more information or they want to figure out how to tell a partner, whatever.\u201d Stenger also referred to teaching students how to properly use a condom. \u201cJust because someone is walking in the Center doesn\u2019t mean that they\u2019re a victim or a survivor. We do other things here.\u201d<\/p>\n

In all of these situations, the ultimate decision of what to do is in the hands of the student.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s totally your choice but we at least want you to make an educated decision,\u201d Stenger said.<\/p>\n

The Center goes beyond speaking with students in the office as well. If a visitor chooses to press charges and needs to go to court, Stenger explains that, as the previous assistant director of judicial affairs at the University at Albany, she now serves as an advisor at the hearings of any visitors to the Advocacy Center who request her assistance. Workers at the center will also accompany guests to police stations or hospitals if the need arises. In addition, if a student finds they are in need of academic accommodations after a crisis, such as extensions of deadlines or excused absences, those at the Center are able to assist with the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can be there for support and help you through that,\u201d Stenger said. \u201cYou have a place to come if you want support.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Advocacy Center for Sexual; Violence can be reached at (518) 442-CARE. For more information, visit www.albany.edu\/advocacycenter<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\nThe Albany Student Press<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Janie Frank News Editor theaspnews@gmail.com \u00a0\u00a0 The Advocacy Center for Sexual Violence at the University at Albany is a resource available to students as of this year. \u00a0\u00a0 The director, Carol Stenger, is a sexuality counselor and educator. She has taught a human sexuality course for the past 20 years, and is known as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[983],"tags":[3959,3840,1763,3960,984,3961],"class_list":["post-13058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-albany-student-press","tag-advocacy","tag-center","tag-comes","tag-sexual","tag-ualbany","tag-violence"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13058"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13058\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techiteens.com\/review\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}