'Cupola Conversations' to discuss #MeToo movement

Panelists address the audience during a previous on-campus Cupola Conversation event.

East Carolina University’s Division of Student Affairs will explore the worldwide culture shift against sexual harassment and assault tomorrow at 3 p.m. with its latest installment of the ‘Cupola Conversations’ series.

Titled “#MeToo, #TimesUp, #WhatsNext?,” the discussion, held in Mendenhall room 244, will center on the fight against sexual violence in today’s society and how it applies to students who may be headed toward the eventual end goal of entering the workplace.

Attendees will be presented with a space to vocalize their personal connections and perspectives on the virality of the worldwide movement against sexual assault, according to ECU’s Interim Associate Dean of Students Lauren Thorn.

“By providing an outlet for students with this Wednesday’s ‘Cupola’ discussion, I can only hope that they will be urged to take a stand for the kind of outcome they want from the #MeToo movement and the fight against sexual assault,” Thorn said.

Tomorrow’s “Cupola Conversation” will feature five panelists: ECU Victim Advocate Kat Bursky, Student Government Association Treasurer Haley Creef, Assistant Director of REAL Crisis Intervention Incorporated Tracy Kennedy, ECU Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Science Jake Jensen and Associate Director for ECU’s Office of Student Transitions Lathan Turner.

Creef, a first time panelist for “Cupola Conversations,” said she is looking forward to bringing a student perspective to tomorrow’s panel. Creef identified herself as an ally of the #MeToo Movement, a social media movement meant to show the prevalence of sexual harassment that went viral in October 2017, and an advocate for victims of sexual assault. Creef said she is “very passionate” about the subject matter of the panel discussion, given that she has personally experienced prejudice toward her for being female.

“I think it’s very important for students and community members to have civil discussions like this instead of picking a fight or not hearing each other out,” Creef, a sophomore accounting and economics double major, said. “I hope the #MeToo movement sticks within our culture because these things continue to happen on a daily basis.”

With the inclusion of male panelists such as Turner and Jensen, Thorn said the organizers of tomorrow’s “Cupola Conversation” wanted to highlight the cruciality of male involvement when it comes to addressing the #MeToo movement’s lasting impact. Associate Vice Chancellor of ECU Student Affairs Chris Stansbury echoed Thorn’s sentiment and added “the intentional effort of ‘Cupola Conversations’ was to create a space for students to feel included and engaged in civil discourse.”

“There’s a lot of males who may be confused on what role they may play when it comes to the #MeToo movement and how they can get involved,” Stansbury said. “We want our male students at ECU to represent themselves properly. We want them, and all of our students, to feel empowered to enact change through civil discussions. ‘Cupola’ is the right place for that.”

“#MeToo, #TimesUp, #WhatsNext” will provide students who may be victims of sexual violence to campus and community resources such as ECU Victim Advocacy, REAL Crisis Center and ECU Counseling and Student Development, according to Thorn. Stansbury said he hopes with this ‘Cupola’ topic and all the others preceding it that students leave knowing their “opinions matter.”

“I want them to hear other opinions and listen to them with the intent to understand, not to necessarily change their minds,” Stansbury said. “We often forget to have these important conversations face to face, so we want ‘Conversations’ to be the place where these face to face discussions happen for students.