Standing together with survivors

Dear Editor,

There is a long and proud tradition in the St. John’s University alumni community called the Johnnie Stand Up. Each year around this time, alumni gather to Stand Up and toast our alma mater.

In response to two recent reports of sexual assault by St. John’s University students against female students at the College of St. Benedict, we are compelled to Stand Up and speak out with a clear, strong and unified voice in support of women, in support of Saint. Ben’s and in support of Bennie students, classmates, colleagues, moms, sisters, daughters, partners and friends.

We call upon the St. John’s community to stand up against sexual assault, sexual misconduct and sexual violence. These deplorable acts are incompatible with our Benedictine values and they have absolutely no place at St. John’s and St. Ben’s.

As Catholic Benedictine institutions, we strive to follow the Rule of St. Benedict and we embrace Catholic teachings, especially respect for the inherent dignity of all persons. This begins with respect for our classmates… women and men from St. Ben’s and St. John’s. We are called to treat every member of our community with dignity, kindness and compassion. We also embrace God’s greatest command: to love our neighbor as ourselves. This is the Benedictine way; this is the Johnnie way.

We fully support the additional steps that are being taken at St. John’s and St. Ben’s to prevent sexual assault and misconduct and to build a safer campus environment, including the expansion of educational programming focused on consent, healthy relationships, bystander intervention and community responsibility.

Lastly, we stand in solidarity with survivors of sexual abuse, assault and violence, and we commit ourselves to building a campus culture where every person is safe, protected, respected, heard and seen.

Sincerely,

SJU Institutional Advancement Leadership Team