Hearing Student Voices: A SHARE Student’s History of the Sexual Misconduct Survey
By Rain Tronoski
On November 17, Reed’s Sexual Misconduct Survey will be released to the student body. This survey is open to all students and meant to gather information about students’ experiences with sexual misconduct on campus and opinions about Reed’s response to sexual misconduct. Some students may remember taking a similar survey in the past, but this year the survey will be a little different due to changes to Oregon legislation brought about by student activism. As a student in Sexual Health and Relationship Education (SHARE) who participated in the committee that brought this survey to campus, I’ll explain more about this survey, how Reedies were involved in its creation, and how filling it out can make a difference in reporting and resources for students on campus.
Recently, the State of Oregon passed legislation focusing on sexual misconduct reporting and response at higher education institutions. This legislation came in the form of two House Bills: House Bill 3456 in 2023 and House Bill 4164 in 2024. House Bill 3456 does a few different things, including mandating that all higher education institutions in the state must provide students with confidential advocacy–essentially, taking what we have with our SHARE program here and taking it statewide.
I highlight this legislation because of Reed’s unique connection with House Bill 3456. In 2023, a Reedie who worked in SHARE helped to write and pass that bill alongside an organization called The Every Voice Coalition. Reedies were involved in giving testimony for that bill. As a first-year, I also gave testimony. This House Bill came about because students spoke out to advocate for support and resources for as many students as possible.
In addition to confidential advocacy, House Bill 3456 requires Oregon’s higher education institutions to improve their reporting measures and responses to sexual misconduct. To do this, it created the Sexual Misconduct Survey Council, made up of people (professionals, students and more) from different organizations and institutions. This council’s purpose is exactly as named: to create the Sexual Misconduct Survey, a foundational survey that every institution can use, using a trauma-informed approach. It will gather completely anonymous data on both reported and unreported sexual misconduct experiences, thoughts on the institution’s response and supportive measures, and the impact that these experiences have had on the community.
This survey is the first step to improving reporting and resources on campus, and another chance for students to make their voices heard. As a student who saw this bill through and now represents Reed on the Survey Council, I have seen the care and dedication with which this survey was created. I’m proud that students have been so involved in this process.
On November 17, the survey will be released to the Reed community and will be open for two weeks. Surveys on campus have a reputation of low response rates–we can all attest to that, especially at Reed. They take time, and often come on top of a busy schedule. Despite these challenges, this survey was created because of—and intends to create a space for— student voices. This is our chance to give our thoughts on how our community’s needs are being met.
SHARE has been working hard along with the Title IX Office, to bring the survey to campus in a way that will make students feel as safe and supported as possible. This survey is designed to take as much or as little time as students are able to give. Responses will be entirely anonymous. It’s open to all students: whether you’ve experienced sexual misconduct, given support to a friend who has, or haven’t experienced misconduct and just want to support your community, this survey is a great way to speak up. SHARE has also been providing informational tabling and will provide a dedicated space in the GCC where students can drop in to take the survey on November 18 and 25 in GCC B from 3 to 5pm. Students will even be able to enter a raffle for gift cards to Paradox or the Bookstore and other swag items. The Reed website has a page dedicated to the survey and SHARE is always here to answer questions.
In the hectic rush of life at Reed, it can be hard to find the time or energy for a survey, but the Sexual Misconduct Survey is very important for everyone involved with institutions of higher education and your response has the potential to make a difference in the community. If you are able to, please consider taking the Sexual Misconduct Survey as a way to join in the conversation, support your fellow and future students, and make your voice heard.