NRT Action 4

No Red Tape members held signs (such as the one above) during their entrance this morning

This morning, members of No Red Tape entered Lerner Hall during an information session for prospective students. During the info session, members of NRT distributed flyers and read a statement to prospective students and families.

The mission of the demonstration was clear: members of the organization spoke of the ways that Columbia has mishandled sexual and dating violence, and they also drew attention to the shortcomings of the new prevention education program.

Regarding the new prevention education program, Michela Weihl (BC ’17) explained, “The new prevention education program announced by Columbia is poorly designed and demonstrates a willful neglect of both empirical evidence and student feedback. President Bollinger and other administrators have publicly proclaimed that it is their top priority to address this issue. However, it has become abundantly clear to us that the issue they truly care about is one of public relations, not student safety. Columbia has a rape problem, and the new prevention education program will not be the solution.”

The letter given to families can be found in electronic form below:

Education prevents violence courtesy of Allie Rickard