SOAR Office Works Toward Achieving a Violence-Free World

April is National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month, and St. John’s University’s SOAR (Sexual violence Outreach, Awareness, and Response) Office has mobilized to spread the word. 

Across campus, particularly in the D’Angelo Center and Marillac Hall, hang T-shirts advocating for an end to sexual-based violence. This effort is part of SOAR’s Clothesline Project—one of its most informational campaigns of the school year.

“We want students to be able to recognize harm. It is in the interest of everyone,” said Danielle DiNapoli, LMSW, Director, Violence Prevention and SOAR. “We all play a role in moving toward a campus, and a world, free of violence.”

The Clothesline Project is a component of SOAR’s Turn Off the Violence initiative, held annually in April. A “Coffee and Consent” informational session was held earlier in the month. Other events include a “Consent is Like FRIES” social in which students acknowledge sexual consent is freely given (F), reversible (R), informed (I), enthusiastic (E), and specific (S). A “Scoops with Score” ice cream event is planned for April 24. 

The Turn Off the Violence effort is the last of SOAR’s three monthly campaigns. Each October, as part of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, it hosts a “Take Back the Night” arts healing workshop, where students can speak out about their experiences in an open-mic forum. In February, as part of Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month, it hosts “S’more Sparks: Kindling Healthy Relationships,” where students talk freely about dating over the campfire snack.    

“The goal of all of these is to help students identify what a healthy relationship is,” Ms. DiNapoli said. “What we have found is that our students are engaged in the conversations. They like to talk about dating.”

According to Ms. DiNapoli, one in four women experience a form of sexual assault while in college; one in 16 men experience it as well. St. John’s SOAR office operates as a separate office inside the Division of Student Success, which also includes Counseling and Psychological Services, Campus Recreation, Student Accessibility Services, Student Health Services, and the Office of Wellness Education and Prevention. “The University takes the issue of sexual violence seriously,” Ms. DiNapoli said. “So seriously, we are our own office and not folded into another.”

Students who believe they might have experienced sexual assault have other resources at St. John’s through SOAR, including the Campus Support Adviser, a confidential phone line staffed by Ms. DiNapoli herself. The support adviser is not a crisis hotline, but acts as a referral line for reporting options, interim remedies, and as a resource for students who might contemplate if they have been assaulted. The phone number is 718-990-8484; email is [email protected]. Students seeking crisis assistance should call 718-990-6384 during business hours or 718-990-6352 after business hours. The Department of Public Safety can be reached at 718-990-5252.  

SOAR’s Sexual Assault: You Are Not Alone guide empowers people who believe they are victims to report assaults. The office can also help student victims reschedule classes or relocate to other University housing to avoid contact with an alleged offender.

Trauma-informed yoga classes are popular with, but not restricted to, victims of assault. 
“We hold trauma in our bodies; we might not even realize we are reacting to it,” Ms. DiNapoli said. “For some, yoga is beneficial.” 

Ms. DiNapoli is a social worker who has previously worked in the court system, in other educational institutions, as an adult counselor, and as a forensic social worker. She said all students, regardless of gender, can be victims of sexual assault. She draws upon her experience to understand how students feel after a potential assault.   

“Anyone can be a victim, and anyone can harm someone else,” Ms. DiNapoli said. “For example, men can endure sexual assault and might be reluctant to report it based on the shame they might feel. The reasons students have for not coming forward are also worth talking about.”