Oregon State University’s Survivor Advocacy and Resource Center (SARC) exists to support students, faculty, and staff who have been impacted by interpersonal violence. Over the years, several students have presented written or in-person complaints to SARC and Student Health Services (SHS) for not adequately addressing their concerns and for victim-blaming survivors reaching out for support.

The student newspaper, the Daily Barometer, even highlighted this issue in multiple 2018/2019 articles, though their article is no longer available online. **see update posts for links provided by OMN

The staff members who have helped survivors feel supported and heard, are not equipped to meet the needs of their clients. SARC supervision has silenced their advocates voices, therefore silencing the survivors needs. 

Oregon State has a responsibility to hold the executive director of Student Health Services accountable for neglecting the needs of SARC staff as individuals, as employees, and regarding resources for support of survivors. 

We have already seen the negligence of the university in last year’s hiring of F King Alexander. We cannot allow the university structure to continue protecting employees that neglect the needs of individuals who have faced interpersonal violence. 

The recent resignation of multiple SARC staff members is a huge loss to the community and they will be greatly missed by those who have benefited from their expertise in survivor care and empathy. 

This petition is a start to bring further awareness to the Corvallis community.

In solidarity with survivors, this is a call for OSU to hold their upper staff accountable for the harm allowed upon the community. It is also a demand for dialogue between OSU and the SARC staff/ larger campus community on the ways in which OSU can and will create change to provide SARC with requested resources and create a community of care for survivors.

*This is also a push for the re-evaluation and reform of survivor care at the university. Far too many student and faculty cases go unreported, unresolved, and their healing undervalued. OSU needs to improve their services to hold perpetrators accountable for their actions and to create healing for survivors who have already endured too much. For the survivors reading and supporting this petition, thank you for your courage and resilience. You are seen and valued.