Campus Community Invited to Listening Meeting on Advocacy Center

In a June 19 email communication to the University community, Senior Vice President and Dean of Student Affairs Rebecca Reed Kantrowitz announced she will host a series of Listening Meetings for the campus community this summer and into the fall semester to receive feedback on the recent decision to integrate and align the services of the Advocacy Center with the Counseling Center and the offices of Student Assistance and Health Promotion.

The first Listening Meeting will take place on Monday, June 23, from 4:30-6 p.m. in the Panasci Lounge of the Schine Student Center. Similar meetings will be scheduled in July and August, and into the fall semester.

Kantrowitz also announced that Janet Epstein and Jill Sneider from the Advocacy Center have accepted new positions in which they will continue to provide education and advocacy services to Syracuse University students. Epstein will be based in the Office of Student Assistance and Sneider in the Office of Health Promotion.

In her email to the campus community, Kantrowitz acknowledged that there are people on campus and in the community who have expressed both positive and negative feedback regarding the decision, which was announced at the end of May.

Under the new structure, the University’s Counseling Center serves as the primary point of access for students seeking services related to sexual violence. The center has 17 trained staff members to provide advocacy and counseling services to students impacted by sexual and/or relationship violence 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

“This designation was made because the Counseling Center is the place on campus that can offer students completely confidential and privileged services under federal guidelines and state law,” wrote Kantrowitz. “This distinction is important because privileged services afford students the maximum privacy under law.”

She continued, “We believe this is the right decision that will provide clarity to students affected by sexual violence and offer them a full sense of control and the freedom to make choices that are right for them the moment they reach out and seek support.”

The University will continue to report non-identifying, statistical data regarding incidents of sexual violence to the federal government and make that data publically available, Kantrowitz said.

“The concerns that have been raised by members of the campus and greater communities have been heard,” Kantrowitz said. “I value that feedback.”

As this new structure is implemented, Kantrowitz said she will continue to hear thoughts, ideas and suggestions on how it can be shaped to best serve students and address the suggestions and concerns that have been raised.

Kantrowitz invites individuals to contact her directly at rrkantro@syr.edu or 315-443-4263 to share their thoughts.