Introducing a new weekly column from the Wellness Centre
Under the umbrella of the department of student affairs at Mount Allison, SHARE is a service devoted to educating, helping and supporting students who have experienced gender-based violence such as sexual assault, sexual harassment, homophobia, transphobia or intimate partner violence.
The SHARE team consists of advisor Melody Petlock, peer education mentor Emelyana Titarenko, peer educators, and a team of professionals within Mt. A’s student affairs. Together, we strive to maintain a healthy environment on campus – free of sexual harassment, sexual assault and discrimination based on sex, gender or sexual orientation. Our office is located in the Wellness Centre on the lowest level of the Wallace McCain Student Centre.
Why SHARE needs a column! Having a column in the Argosy allows our group to further educate and reach out to the Mt. A community. Encompassed in this, the column will function as a platform to continue the conversation with respect to gender-based violence and discrimination on campus, provide news and updates on campus situations, and increase the presence and awareness of SHARE on campus. In the future, the column will address and discuss student concerns about gender-based violence, inform the community about events and partnerships, elaborate on the SHARE Prevention Strategy for 2017-18, and share support resources.
During the fall semester we were involved in raising awareness of Mi’kmaq History Month and participated in the REDress Project. The latter involved hanging red dresses around campus to serve as a visual reminder of the more than 1000 missing and murdered Indigenous women in Canada. SHARE also coordinated a Love Shouldn’t Hurt campaign in November, drawing attention to emotional and physical abuse in partnered relationships. Later that month we advocated for 14 days of action and awareness against violence against women.
In recent weeks, you may have seen SHARE posters in washrooms in academic buildings across campus. These posters addressed cyber harassment and cyber misogyny, which were our focus for the month of January. They were intended to inform the Mt. A community that harassment and misogyny are a prevalent issues that extend into the cyber and social media world. In the coming months, we will focus on raising awareness of sexual assault and harassment and promoting equity at work.
We look forward to the future of this column in its ability to support, help and educate Mt. A students. One of the goals of the weekly column is to encourage conversation within the community and with SHARE. We would appreciate any comments, concerns or feedback that would help improve SHARE’s involvement in the community. With this, anyone in need of support or just in need of someone to talk to is encouraged to reach out to SHARE via our contact information below. If you are looking to become more involved in the Mt. A community and would like to become a part of SHARE, or if you would like more information about SHARE, please visit our page on the Mt. A website. Thank you for taking the time to read this; we look forward to building and maintaining a healthy and positive Mt. A community with you!
Melody Petlock, SHARE Advisor
Office: 506-364-2613
Reception: 506-364-2163
E-mail: [email protected]
