Dear Parents and Families,
In recognition of April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we would like to take
this opportunity to introduce ourselves as the two new members of the Tufts
Community dedicated to resource, support, prevention and education. This month
we are helping to launch several different visual campaigns that aim to unite the
campus and create a culture of care. Students will be photographed with written
proactive steps they have taken to reduce the prevalence of sexual violence on our
campus. These photos will be dispersed throughout the campus media outlets.
Additionally two other student projects will focus on how Tufts students use online
dating apps and how redefining masculinity changes how we view sex. In addition,
Tufts Health Services will debut a new Sex Q & A segment that will answer student
questions and air in video and podcast format.
The positions of Sexual Misconduct Resource Specialist and Sexual Misconduct
Prevention Specialist were implemented as part of a Task Force on Sexual
Misconduct comprised of faculty, staff and students and chaired by President
Anthony Monaco.
Nandi Bynoe is the new Sexual Misconduct Resource Specialist. In this role, Nandi
has policy-based confidentiality in supporting students affected by sexual
misconduct on the Medford/Somerville, Boston and Grafton campuses. This level of
confidentiality means that students who have concerns related to issues of sexual
assault or misconduct can seek measures of institutional support without
necessarily having their name or any identifying characteristics shared with the
Office of Equal Opportunity unless the student gives permission to do so. Nandi
provides support and information for all Tufts students seeking to understand their
options and resources within and beyond the Tufts campuses. She is also
responsible for coordinating interim measures such as housing and academic
measures to support students who have been affected by sexual misconduct.
Nandi is located in Dowling Hall Room 701F, and can be contacted directly
at nandi.bynoe@tufts.edu or 617-627-0765.
Alexandra Donovan is the new Sexual Misconduct Prevention Specialist.
She co-chairs the Prevention & Education Working group of the President’s Sexual
Misconduct Task Force. Alexandra’s role is to work with students, faculty and staff
on prevention, training and awareness activities on the Medford/Somerville, Boston
and Grafton campuses. Her goal is to promote healthy communication and
relationship skills as well as healthy sexuality. Working with a diverse group of
students, Alexandra will be launching a campus-wide bystander intervention
program focusing on tasks we all can do to reduce sexual violence. Alexandra comes
to Tufts most recently from Cambridge Public Health Department and has 20 years
of power-based personal violence work in hospitals, shelters, counseling center,
court and state level victim services.
Like all staff, faculty and student employees at Tufts who are not in a confidentially
privileged role, Alexandra is a mandated reporter, someone required by federal law
to report disclosures of sexual misconduct to the Office of Equal Opportunity.
Alexandra is located in Health Services at 124 Professors Row, and can be
contacted directly at alexandra.donovan@tufts.edu or 617-627-5140.
Tufts University is committed to combatting sexual assault on campus and provides
many resources to assist and support victims/survivors of sexual misconduct. The
university takes all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously and is committed to
providing information, resources and clear direction to members of the Tufts
community so that, together, we can help prevent and address this conduct.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with questions about our new roles on
campus.
Sincerely,
Alexandra Donovan, Sexual Misconduct Prevention Specialist
Nandi Bynoe, Sexual Misconduct Resource Specialist