About the Network
Contact Us - Who We Are - Activities - Get Involved
If you are a survivor or a friend of a survivor and would like to speak to someone about your experience, options, information, or just need to talk, call x4100 from on campus 24 hours a day during school. The hotline is staffed by trained student volunteers. This is the procedure:
1) You will reach an answering service and will be asked to leave your name and extension. If you're not comfortable leaving your real name feel free to leave a fake name (just remember it because when the hotline member calls they'll ask for that name!)
2) The answering service will page the on call hotline member immediately and give them your name and extension.
3) The hotline member will call the given extension asking for the reported name as soon as possible.
*Only female hotline members wear beepers and get paged. If you would like to speak to a male hotline member, there is always a man "on call" (he just doesn't wear a beeper.) The hotline member who calls you back can put you in contact with him.
*For more support or continuing help please see the Resources On Campus page
The Williams College Rape and Sexual Assault Network is a student-run organization dedicated to supporting survivors of sexual assault and rape, supporting loved ones of survivors, and educating the Williams College community about rape and sexual assault. The network is made up of about 40 Williams College students (female and male!) who each contribute to planning events and counseling peers. All the members are trained in counseling in affiliation with the Williams College Health Center.
The network receives funding from the College Council (the student government) and from the Williams College Health Center. Both monetary and moral support for individual activities comes from our advisor, Donna Denelli-Hess at the Health Center and other offices on campus including Security, the Dean's Office, and Women's and Gender Studies.
The activities of the network include:
- Running a 24-hour support hotline while school is in session
- Promoting awareness of relevant issues on campus through forums, entry talks, tabling, and various campaigns and events
- Coordinating outreach in the local community to educate and raise awareness about rape and sexual assault
- Sponsoring and organizing Take Back The Night, part of a nation-wide event that occurs each spring and focuses on creating a safe environment for everyone
- Organizing a pledge for safe relationships and community at Williams during the fall semester
- Sponsoring other visiting programs and events. Events in the past have included a mock trial of a rape case, "sex jams," and a program by Equalogy, a theater group that tours with awareness presentations
If you would like to get involved:
The network runs a training for new members at various times during the year, including winter study. If you're interested in training to be a hotline counselor please contact Lauren Guilmette '08, one of our training coordinators. Also feel free to contact one of our two coordinators, Katie and Kiana, at any time.