How the Delaware community supports its rape survivors

By Spenser Hickey
Managing Editor

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Delaware Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics show that over half the violent crimes reported in Delaware from 2000 to 2012 were rape.

According to criminologist John Durst, Ph.D., this should be a startling statistic. But it’s not one that he’s surprised by – he thinks the numbers likely show that Delaware has a higher level of reporting than other areas.

“We tend to get a lot of reports, and I don’t think that’s because there’s more sexual assault going on in Delaware,” said Delaware Police Chief Bruce Pijanowski.

Former Chief Russell Martin, now Delaware County Sheriff, said he wasn’t alarmed by the data.

“I always believe when your community has confidence in your response to sexual assault, more people are going to report,” he said.

“…We felt confident that people were reporting because they trusted their local police.”

FBI statistics show that from 2000 to 2012, Delaware’s forcible rape reports were 3.3 times the national average and 2.7 times the state average per 100,000 residents. Calculating crimes in terms of 100,000 residents eliminates statistical disparity caused by population size, but the classification of “forcible rape” used by the FBI was narrower than that of Delaware police.

“I would be skeptical of a community that said they didn’t have a sexual assault problem because then I would be concerned whether they’re not encouraging people to come forward and report and investigate and prosecute those matters,” Martin said.

“Given HelpLine intervention, Wesleyan, (and a) pretty educated populace, you’re going to get more people willing to go through the rape kit, whole nine yards, in terms of assaulted persons,” said Durst, an associate professor of sociology at Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU).

Still, any sexual assault case is a horrible experience, he added.

“Just because we’re doing some sort of numerical, statistical comparing, whatever the comparative situation for Delaware, from a victim’s perspective it’s too many.”

– John Durst, Criminologist

The highest year for rape statistics during the period was 2008, when the 61 reports made up 63.54 percent of all violent crimes in the city. Durst said he was hesitant to draw conclusions from the changes in annual rape statistics, though.

337 other sexual assaults – including gross sexual imposition, sexual imposition, sexual battery, unlawful conduct with a minor and attempted rape – were reported to Delaware Police from 2000 to 2012.

“Approximately one in three women experience sexual assault in their lifetimes, so I would say that we’re not necessarily seeing that more sexual assaults are happening in Delaware, rapes specifically, but again higher reporting, which I would consider a positive attribution of our community,” said Richelle Schrock, Ph.D., director of the women’s and gender studies program at Ohio Wesleyan.

“Higher numbers could indicate that the systems are providing a supportive response to encourage victims to come forward and report these crimes,” said Katie Hanna, Executive Director of the Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence.

“By creating a culture that believes survivors and promoting a system that holds offenders accountable, we may see more survivors coming forward to report.”

The Reporting Process

“Most sexual assaults are perpetrated by someone known to the victim,” Hanna said. “Whether it’s a partner, family member, neighbor or friend, these factors make reporting challenging.”

In Delaware, the police have a long history of working to make the reporting and investigation process as streamlined as possible for to help survivors, according to Chief Pijanowski and former Chief Martin.

Linda Black, Police Chief from 2001-2004, could not be reached for comment.

Creation of the Sexual Assault Response Team, which brings together law enforcement, hospital staff, HelpLine survivor advocates, the County Prosecutor and the current County Department of Job and Family Services, began in 1993 or 1994, according to Martin, then a Detective-Sergeant with the Delaware Police Department.

Hanna praised this type of team structure.

“By working collaboratively with rape crisis centers, law enforcement, prosecutors and child advocacy centers, we can support survivors on their path to healing.”

– Katie Hanna, Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence

“I think that (team) began handling those cases even in a more thorough, sensitive way than they’d been done prior to that,” Martin said.

Pijanowski said that the streamlined system makes it easier for survivors to share their experience and lessen the impact it has.

“Going through the criminal justice system…they just keep reliving it,” he said. Before, the responding officer would take a statement, detectives would ask more detailed questions, as would hospital staff, and then prosecutors would run through questions before the trial.

“There were so many times it was coming up,” Pijanowski said.

When reports are made, Pijanowski said detectives must balance the needs of the survivor and ensuring public safety – a “thin line.”

“When you have a sexual assault, you have a survivor of sexual assault who has been victimized in ways that you and I have no comprehension.”

– Bruce Pijanowski, Delaware Police Chief

However in the event of a perpetrator who posed an ongoing threat to the general public’s safety, having the existing support coalition is very beneficial.

“The last thing we want to do is have a survivor come into us and say this happened, I don’t want to prosecute, I don’t want to do anything and we say ‘Well it’s too bad, we’re going to do it,’” he said.

Martin said that the coalition system establishes community trust which leads to more reports due to discussions among survivors.

In one instance, a child survivor described her positive experience working with the police to a friend, who then disclosed that she too had been sexually assaulted, according to Martin.

“You might get an increase in reports but a lot of times we feel that’s because we’ve established a good reputation with the community,” he said.

When reports are made involving child survivors of sexual abuse, detectives have to be very careful, according to Pijanowski.

“(Children) think differently and you have to be really really careful not to plant an idea in their mind, not to lead them or suggest an answer in your question,” he said.

When interviewing children on the exact details of an assault, detectives have to know what the children mean and be sure they know, he said, and so receive specific training to investigate such cases.

When children become involved in the court system as a victim of abuse, neglect or dependency they often receive assistance from Delaware County’s Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA.)

CASA Coordinator Anne Konarski is also involved in the county-level effort to combat sexual assault.

“We work with all abuse, neglect and dependency cases that come from Delaware County Juvenile Court so we’ll take any sex abuse case that happens, it doesn’t matter if it’s interfamily or not,” Konarski said.

“…It’s just more likely for us to get a case with someone that the person knows because that’s more likely to happen.”

CASA volunteers work to guide children through the civil court process and ensure their basic needs are being met. For sexual assault survivors, this includes ensuring they receive therapy to cope with the trauma.

A “fantastic resource” in knowing how to help a child is the Child Assessment Center in Columbus, Konarski said.

There, children are interviewed by a trained forensic interviewer while a prosecutor and police officer watch from another room so the survivor doesn’t have to repeat the process. They also conduct a complete social-medical history and doctor’s exam to determine the extent of the abuse.

“They do a great evaluation and then we get copies of it (to use in our role as legal advocates),” Konarski said.

Holding the Line

Ohio Wesleyan Professor Richelle Schrock listed the presence of HelpLine of Delaware and Morrow Counties in the center of the city as a resource that increases reporting. HelpLine provides crisis support and referral services and is a rape crisis center, offering services to sexual assault survivors through the Sexual Assault Response Network (SARN).

“Most people know HelpLine from our 24/7 crisis line,” said Nancy Radcliffe, Director of Sexual Assault Services at Delaware HelpLine.

HelpLine supports survivors through the crisis line, providing advocates to those who have reported a sexual assault at an emergency room or police station, holding support groups and retreats and offering information and prevention services.

“Our SARN program really does a wide range of things, and it just kind of depends on where someone is, what kind of help they might want.”

– Nancy Radcliffe, HelpLine of Delaware and Morrow Counties

SARN and HelpLine, as non-profits, rely on grants and donations for funding. One of their donors is Ohio Wesleyan participants in the V-Day movement to end violence against women and girls.

V-Day OWU activists take donations during on-campus performances of Eve Ensler’s “The Vagina Monologues” and donated between $800 and $900 in the past two years, according to co-director Claire Hackett, an OWU student in the class of 2014.

“Although we can promote awareness about sexual assault we are not a resource for survivors and I think raising money is important,” Hackett said.

Radcliffe too agrees that the statistics likely show more reporting occurs in Delaware.

“I think Delaware County has… a team of first responders that work more closely together than in some of the bigger counties,” said Radcliffe, who previously worked in Franklin County and at Ohio State University.

“…Here in Delaware, I would anticipate there would be a higher incidence of people reporting.”

The first responders she referenced include SARN’s survivor advocates, city police and county sheriff’s deputies.

She acknowledged, though, that while those who experience sexual assaults may be more likely to learn of and use services available, general public awareness could be improved.

“I think the support services that exist form a pretty invisible safety net for people, I don’t know that people know that there’s all the great people who can help here out in Delaware,” she said.

Radcliffe also listed several misconceptions about rape and sexual assault that she sees in American society and works to combat in Delaware.

One way HelpLine’s staff works to increase education on and prevent sexual assault is through grant-funded programs in area schools, ranging from preschool to high school to Ohio Wesleyan University, whose students also receive education from Delaware Police through programs started by Police Captain Adam Moore and Public Safety Director Robert Wood.

HelpLine’s programs address violence in general but also include specific focuses on sexual violence.

“What we’ve learned about violence prevention is we need to be talking to everybody,” Radcliffe said.

“We need to be talking to potential perpetrators for sure but also people who witness stuff going on and people who experience it. So we have programs in the elementary school, but we really get into sexual violence prevention more specifically in middle and high schools.”

State-wide activist Katie Hanna mentioned HelpLine’s program specifically, saying it “equips youth with skills to develop healthy relationships, and to stop all forms of sexual violence before they happen, including being an active bystander that interrupts unhealthy behaviors.”

She also said that parents have a role in preventing sexual assault through education.

“Parents should have conversations with their children and teens about healthy relationships, boundaries and consent,” she said.

Their programs on sexual violence don’t make any assumptions regarding possible sexual activity on the part of the students, according to Radcliffe.

“Our goal is not to do sex education but to let people know that any time, this may be on the table, people may be in a situation (involving sexual assault), these are the things you need to know,” she said.

“This is what consent is, this is what coercion is.”

The programs emphasize that consent cannot be given if a person is intoxicated and challenge “rape-supportive ideas”, Radcliffe said.

They also challenge the misperception that survivors are more likely to be assaulted by someone they know than a stranger – the Department of Justice’s 2005 National Crime Victimization Study found that in 73 percent of reported rapes the survivor knew the perpetrator.

“We’re just given messages about the prevention of stranger attacks, so it kind of leaves people unprepared for when it’s someone they know who takes advantage of a situation,” Radcliffe said.

“…A lot of times (people) only think about (sexual assault) as being something that involves a great deal of physical force, so we try to help people understand what it is and once people understand what it is then some good conversations happen.”

Radcliffe added that any form of sexual assault, not just rape, can be incredibly traumatic for the survivor, and how the assault affects them depends on “the individual and their situation.”

“Whether it’s gross sexual imposition, a sexual battery or rape, voyeurism, (it) can be devastating – any of the sex offenses that you look at, the 2907s (Section of sex offenses in the Ohio Revised Code,) for the individual it’s the specific circumstances that seem to resonate with them,” she said.

“…Just because the criminal justice system might charge something as a misdemeanor, it doesn’t mean it hasn’t profoundly affected the person who experienced it.”

 

56.4 Percent

Another area SARN focuses awareness and prevention efforts on is child sexual abuse, through programs such as Stewards of Children, which trains adults to prevent, recognize and react.

“Adults have more power to interrupt something, and so we try to make sure people have better information than just ‘stranger danger,’” Radcliffe said.

From 2000 to 2008, 56.4 percent of sexual assault survivors in rapes reported to DPD were under 18 on the day the report was made, excluding 21 reports that did not list the survivor’s date of birth.

In Ohio, according to Katie Hanna, more than 60 percent of rape reports involve children and juveniles. Nationally, according to statistics provided by the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), 44 percent of rape and sexual assault survivors are under 18 and 15 percent are under 12.

In Delaware from 2000 to 2008, 56.4 percent of rape survivors were under 18, as noted, and 28 percent were under 12. The 2010 US Census reported that 23.7 percent of Delaware’s population were minors.

The highest percentage of reporting survivors under 18 during that period was in 2007, when 72.6 percent of those raped were children. There were more rapes of children than any other FBI-defined violent crime that year.

“If that doesn’t make you stop and think ‘What the heck,’ what does?”

– Radcliffe, on statistics on child sexual assault and rape.

HelpLine and SARN work more closely with adult survivors of child sexual assault, she said, and often refer children and their parents or guardians to specialists in Delaware and Franklin County.

“I think our strongest suit is that we’re connected to a lot of people who can help, so it just kind of depends on what the individual wants to do,” Radcliffe said.

For Hackett, a representative of the V-Day movement to end violence against both women and girls, violence against children is an issue that needs more attention.

“I don’t think when we think of sexual assault we think of children, because that would be even more horrifying,” she said.

“…I think it happens a lot more often than people think and it’s almost like we categorize it into something else, like, ‘Oh, that’s sexual abuse or that’s an abusive family or we say the government will take care of that, will remove the child from that. But it’s so hidden and it’s not talked about.”

She did see it as gaining more attention due to performances such as “The Vagina Monologues” – a series of readings by activist Eve Ensler, founder of the V-Day movement – or “Butterfly Confessions,” a similar piece by Yetta Young that addresses experiences of African-American women.

“People are finally coming out and opening these wounds that they’ve had,” Hackett said.

When children do disclose that they have been or are being assaulted, it’s imperative that they be believed, as should all sexual assault survivors, according to Hanna.

“Children are often threatened by these ‘trusted’ adults to keep secrets,” she said.

“Survivors need to hear that it’s not their fault and they are not to blame for what happened to them, at any age.”

– Katie Hanna, Ohio Alliance to End Sexual Violence

 

Related – Catching up: Sex crime reporting in Delaware and at Ohio Wesleyan

The Issue: Mahmoud Abbas

The Palestinian president has changed his tune on the Holocaust. Abbas called the Holocaust “the most heinous crime to have occurred against humanity in the modern era,” according to the New York Times.

The timing of this announcement comes before Israel’s annual memorial for victims of the genocide. It also comes at a time during the United States-backed peace processes in Israel. Abbas was also known as a Holocaust denier. According to the New York Times, “…he challenged the number of Jewish victims and argued that Zionists had collaborated with Nazis to propel more people to what would become Israel” in his 1983 doctoral dissertation. The AP says “Israelis frequently claim the Palestinians are not sincere about wanting peace.”

These comments come when Abbas’s political party, the Fatah group, and its rival Hamas are trying to broker a deal to form a new unity government, said the BBC. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not a fan of the comments. “President Abbas can’t have it both ways,” he told CNN. “He can’t say the Holocaust was terrible, but at the same time embrace those who deny the Holocaust and seek to perpetrate another destruction of the Jewish people.”

The Issue: Syria

Though other news headlines capture attention, the three-year long Syrian civil war is still going on, and people there are working toward progress.

The United Nations set a June 30 as a deadline for the total destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons. However, the Syrian government wanted to remove its 1,300 tons of chemical substances by April 27. Al Jazeera reports 92 percent of the arsenal has been shipped out of the country or destroyed.

According to the BBC, most of Syria’s chemical weapons substances exist as separate materials, and become toxic once they are mixed together.

“If Syria completes the process, it would be regarded as a critical step toward demonstrating its commitment to eradicating its entire chemical weapons program by the end of June…” wrote the New York Times.

The Issue: Sainthood for Two Popes

In an historic event, Pope Francis elevated his predecessors John XXIII and John Paul II to sainthood. According to the New York Times, this is the first time two popes have been canonized at once.

The event garnered large crowds in Rome. The Vatican estimated about 800,000 people went to Rome to see the event first hand, according to the BBC. Joining the festivities was former Pope Benedict XVI, the first pope to resign in over 600 years. He stepped down last year due to health reasons.

According to Al Jazeera, John XXIII was pope from 1958 to 1963. John Paul II was pope for almost 27 years, from 1978 to 2005.

By Brian Williams and Brianna Velliquette
Transcript Reporter and Transcript Correspondent

Project Glass, Google’s newest venture in wearable technology, has come to Ohio Wesleyan.

Information Services has purchased a pair of Google Glass, and is looking forward to discovering how it can best be used on campus.

Google Glass, known simply as Glass, is a new product still in the phase of beta testing.

The company has launched an “Explorer Program” and if successful, hopes to release Glass to the general public.

Glass is a pair of glasses frames. On the right side is where the technology lies, with a small camera and heads up display (HUD), which can be seen by glancing up and to the right.

Once activated by the voice command “Okay glass” or by tapping the side, any of Glass’s functions are made available.

Users can do things such as take a picture, find directions, send a message, or browse the web.

Each function appears as an app, much like a Smartphone, and developers are constantly adding more apps that can be used with Glass.

Glass has Bluetooth connectivity, which allows one to pair with a Smartphone’s contacts for calls, messages, and data for on-the-go Glass experience.

“This is a completely new form factor, I think that we have a great opportunity for experimenting with ways OWU can benefit from it,” sophomore Matt McCord said.

Beta testing of the product has allowed Google to work out the early bugs from this new technology, as well as welcome the creativity of others in finding applications for its use.

McCord, an employee of IS and member of the campus technology council, touched on the current exclusivity of Glass ownership.

“It isn’t something that, if lost or broken, we can just get a new one,” he said.

“The university had to pay over $1,000 to own it and the application process wasn’t simple. We truly have our hands on a rare piece of forward thinking technology, and personally I’m excited to get my hands on them.”

IS has already come up with ways in which we can use Glass, and is welcoming the entire OWU community in sharing their ideas.

“A professor can film an experiment using Glass and give the first person perspective on exactly what to do,” instructional technologist David Soliday said.

“Or our externship and travel-learning course students can share what they are doing, while leaving them completely hands free. Down the line, tours can be filmed, both for those who can’t visit in person, but also to enhance the experience of visitors on campus through this overlapping augmented reality. The possibilities are limitless, which is the most exciting part.”

So far, not too many people have been able to check them out, as the product is still new to campus. Soliday cited an increase of awareness as one of the first steps to getting the most out of Glass.

“I was able to take Glass to WCSA’s full body meeting and loved sharing my experience to help build interest,” Dean of Students, Kimberlie Goldsberry said. The dean gave positive reviews about her Glass experience, saying there was a sense of energetic surprise and curiosity received by those around her.

“Training took only about a half hour and hearing the possibilities for use that students immediately came up with was really encouraging,” she said.

Soliday also pointed out that there still are some bugs Google is working to fix. Connecting to wifi networks with an extra authentication via website such as BishopNet is currently not supported, so in order to surf the web you must be tethered to a Smartphone’s data connection.

According to Google’s support page, they are working on fixing issues such as this and are releasing new software to improve the user experience.

“You can get a bit cross eyed after wearing them for too long, and they don’t easily fit over another pair of glasses.” Goldsberry said.

According to Soliday, Google is working to pair with optometrists to make prescription lenses, which will hopefully alleviate that concern.

Since they are so new, McCord keyed in on the fact that everyone is still learning.

“From the multi-tasker who can have an easier time doing research, to someone wanting easy to follow directions and so on, it is the unknown potential of this new form that makes Glass exciting,” he said.

Glass isn’t all glory, however, and has raised concerns about the fit of the glasses as well as inspired discussions about privacy.

Librarian Ben Daigle said when he put the glasses on, he had trouble using them as actual glasses.

“If I’m looking at a sign 30 feet away, I can’t read it without my glasses,” he said. “The image in the machine is blurry just as something would be at a distance. But it wasn’t terribly difficult to figure out.”

Brian Rellinger, Information Services’ chief information officer, explained that Glass inherently raises privacy issues.

“When we first got them, some people react as if it’s an invasion of privacy immediately,” Rellinger said.

Soliday gave more perspective on the concern, explaining that because Glass is so subtle, it makes it difficult for people to realize they are being recorded.

“Glass has no ‘On Air’ light,” Soliday said. “People like to know when they’re being recorded.”

As the technology is still in the beta phases, Google is willing to come up with solutions to problems beta users come across.

Despite the negatives, Rellinger said Google Glass has been received more positively on campus than initially thought.

“When we’re walking around using them, students approach us and say ‘Oh that’s cool, can I try them on? Can I see how that works?’” Rellinger said.

The divorce is finalized: the Department of Humanities-Classics has split into two separate disciplines, after a faculty vote during the faculty meeting on April 21.

The reason for the split was that “there was little intellectual content holding Humanities and Classics together,” according to the resolution in the agenda for the faculty meeting.

This structure would “ensure adequate curricular support for Classics in particular,” it added.

The Department of Humanities also received a new name.

It is now the Department of Comparative Literature. Classics is not its own department, but rather is the Program in Classics.

“We think that the split and also renaming the Humanities side of the department to Comparative Literature is in the best interest of our students both on the Humanities and Classics sides,” Anne Sokolsky, professor and head of the former Humanities department, said.

“Renaming “Humanities” to Department of Comparative Literature best describes what we do in our classes and what we do in our scholarship.”

The difference between a Program and a Department is that a Program is run by an advisory board, while a Department is run by the faculty within it.

Classics will not be an interdisciplinary program – the only faculty member will be Lee Fratantuono, associate professor of Classics.

“This vote for Classics independence is a wonderful show of support for Classics,” Fratantuono said.

“It would not have been possible without the much appreciated work of the Academic Policy Committee and the provost, Dr. Stinemetz.”

Sokolsky said that next year they will try to get the requirements changed for the major to incorporate more foreign language and translation theory to adequately reflect the title of Comparative Literature.

Randolph Quaye, the director of Black World Studies department at Ohio Wesleyan, was recently recognized for his research with the Affordable Care Act and his work as a reviewer for academic journals.

“We see a gap when we look at our health care system,” Quaye said.

“We do have 15 percent of our population that are under insured, and based upon my own research I do feel like something has to be done to fill the gap.”

Quaye began his research last year. When the proposal for the Affordable Care Act was initially made, Quaye said he thought it was something that would “not necessarily solve the problem” but open up new roads in expanding health care for those who are currently uninsured.

Quaye’s research had two main goals. First, he wanted to gather information from physicians.

“In order for the system to work, you need to know where physicians stand in relation to the Affordable Care Act,” he said.

He developed a survey and reached out to approximately 90 different physicians across Ohio, including the Columbus, Akron, Wooster and Cleveland areas.

Quaye said he had published a research on manage care involving Ohio physicians almost four years ago and wanted to see “what has changed” since then.

Additionally, he said he wanted to get a broader sense from physicians about whether in fact they have any view point on the Affordable Care Act.

He said one of his first questions to the physicians was to tell him something about the act.

“More often than not people use the word ‘Obama care’ and there seems to be some misunderstanding on whether Obama care is something different from the Affordable Care Act,” Quaye said.

He wanted to see how knowledgeable people are about the specific provisions under the Affordable Care Act.

He also wanted to know what the physicians thought would be the impact of the act on their medical practice.

Results of the Research

“What I got from my analysis is that for primary physicians, they were really in favor of the Affordable Care Act because it allows them to increase their fees and because they will be in a position to put a lot of emphasis on preventative medicine, that seemed to go well for their profession,” Quaye said.

“Specialists were not so enthusiastic,” he said.

“Some of them felt it would erode their income, it would erode their professional autonomy because they would have to deal with a whole series of bureaucratic structures, so most of them were not really enthusiastic about it.”

Quaye also said some of the physicians mentioned that this is a “very massive under taking that the government is engaged in,” and the government has to ensure that there are enough doctors.

“If we expand in medicaid, which is really what the program is doing for those who are uninsured, the problem is, have we trained enough doctors to handle the volume that the Affordable Care Act is designed to provide,” he said.

Quaye said he would have liked to have a larger sample size for his research.

Further, because he conducted his research during the summer, a large number of doctors were on vacation, and he didn’t get as many responses as he might have in January or February.

“I also wanted to do something before the second elections so I was trying to get a sense of what people were saying about the Affordable Care Act,” he said.

Quaye has been awarded the Outstanding Reviewer for Leadership in Health Services as a part of the Emerald Literati Network award for excellence. He won the same award two years ago.

He said his work as a reviewer involves reviewing articles for several journals—mostly in the health field—and for the past 2 years he has reviewed more than 20.

“Currently have I have two articles and what I do is read, make comments on research objectives, look at literature review, the methods that have been employed and the analysis and conclusion,” he said.

Quaye then makes recommendations about whether each article should be published or needs some kind of revision.

He sends his comments to the editor and they get in touch with authors and then they revise it.

Some of the articles are then sent back to him and he then determines if the articles are ready for publication.

“I tend to be very thorough in my review and I think they liked that,” he said.

Future Plans

Quaye said he has received a grant from OWU for another research in the upcoming summer.

He will be traveling to Sweden, Denmark and Norway to look at the changing status of medical profession in those three countries.

“I have a passion for addressing the broader issue of health whether in this country, Africa or Europe I’ve always been interested in knowing about what is happing in the health arena, lets say, global health in general,” he said.

Quaye said he is also interested in having a Sagan National Colloquium “devoted on global health challenges so it’s an opportunity to bring in experts from different disciplines to look at health from a global perspective.”

“I like doing research and also I do teach an honors course on medical profession here,” he said.

“So it’s always good to update myself and see what is new in the area of health.”

By Catie Beach
Transcript Correspondent

Graffiti artist and indigenous rights activist Jaque Fragua came to Ohio Wesleyan last Tuesday evening to share how he paints the streets in an attempt to spark political change.

“Jaque Fragua: Public Art and the Indigenous Sovereignty Movement” was a part of Citizens of the World (COW) House’s annual programming series “Celebrating Our World Week,” in honor of on-campus and global diversity.

The lecture, held in the Benes Rooms, was one of several diversity-themed events, including the screening of “Black Gold,” a film about fair trade coffee, t-shirt decorating on the JayWalk and an “around the world” picnic.

COW House’s moderator, senior Ashley Maderas, got the idea to bring Fragua to campus when watching a TED Talk featuring photojournalist Aaron Huey.

His case study of the U.S. government’s devastating violations of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty inspired him to organize Native artists, advocacy groups and allies to start the art-advocacy organization Honor the Treaties, of which Fragua is a member.

An Artist’s Inspiration

A Jemez Pueblo hailing from New Mexico, Fragua’s artwork speaks about human rights abuses occurring on reservation lands, as well as the historic exploitation of his people’s culture.

“When one is oppressed, you naturally start pulling apart the layers to see what’s wrong,” Fragua said in his lecture. “When you get to the core you see it’s systematic.”

Some of his vibrant murals are abstract in subject matter, and reflect his voice as a Native artist working to reclaim ancient symbology, stolen and exploited by outside cultures for commercial use.

Other murals raise awareness of the systematic marginalization of Native peoples living on reservations. He references the increased abuse of Native women, mass shortage of clean water and government exploitation of sacred lands.

Maderas hopes her peers recognize the dual responsibility of celebrating diversity through Fragua’s message.

“I don’t just want people to celebrate the differences of Jaque’s culture,” she said.

“I want people to get angry. I want people to realize that there are some groups we don’t talk about. Some people don’t recognize that the government is at fault.”

The mission of “Celebrating Our World Week” urges students to simultaneously celebrate cultural differences, and support those trying to reconcile inequality. Fragua’s work and philosophy exemplify his mission.

“In Pueblo culture, balance is at the core of everything,” he said. “It’s about the dichotomy. I see art that way. I see life that way.”

“Numbers 93 to 100,” called Sister Sandy, over a din of muffled voices. “Numbers 93 to 100, you are up.”

The numbers refer to the order of individuals waiting to collect food during Mobile Food Market, held at Highpoint Church in Delaware.

Andrews House, a non-profit organization in Delaware, partners with the Mid-Ohio Foodbank twice a month to, “bring fresh food and groceries to individuals and families in communities where food access is limited,” according to the Andrews House Website.

Liz Bowman, the operations manager at Andrews House, said each Mobile Market attracts around 200 families.

“Our largest turnout was in November of 2013, where we served 304 households at one market,” she said. “In 2013, we served a total of 5,087 households and data collected at sign in was used to determine that based on the number of individuals in the households, we served 13,213 people in 2013.”

Visitors at each Mobile Market are asked to sign in by noting their name, address, the total number of people in their household with a breakdown of their ages (0-17, 18-59, 60+).

They are then given a number based on the order they arrived in, and asked to wait in the church’s recreation room.

Each Mobile Market, families begin arriving at the church hours before the noon start time.

Sister Sandy, an active community volunteer, calls out the numbers at the April 7 market.

“I do it because these people are just like me,” she said. “They are hungry, just like me. I don’t want anyone to slip through the cracks.”

As a whole, Delaware is a relatively affluent county, with only 4.7 percent of households classified as living below the poverty level in 2013 (the lowest poverty rate in the state.)

However, Melinda Corroto, executive director of Andrews House, said around 18,000 people in Delaware County “have hunger as an issue.”

“It could mean they miss a meal a day, or a meal a week,” she said.

“But in general, food security is an issue for them and we see that as a great need for our community.”

Many visitors indicate that they would not be able to make ends meet without the help they receive from the Mobile Market and other similar services.

Jerry Henderson and Ann Lesieur said they visit the Mobile Market twice a month.

“Since they reduced my food stamps to $15, I rely pretty heavily on this food,” Lesieur said.

“Also, I’m diabetic and they make sure they have special food for me here.”

David Braumiller, a self-proclaimed “Delaware landmark,” said he comes twice a month to collect food for himself and his wife.

“The price of food makes it hard to get by,” he said. “When a gallon of milk is more than a gallon of gas it’s hard to chose which one to buy. I shouldn’t have to chose.”

The waiting area is filled with community members of all ages. Several individuals, also waiting for their numbers to be called, nodded in agreement with Braumiller.

Colleen Lilly, who used to work at the Thomson Store at Ohio Wesleyan, said she was collecting food for three families in addition to her own.

“Some of my neighbors just don’t have transportation,” she said.

“So I like to help out when I can.”

According to their annual report, in the fiscal year 2013 the Mid-Ohio Foodbank distributed 48.6 million pounds of food and groceries, including 17.4 million pounds of fresh produce, among with the 20 counties and 550 organizations they serves.

Besides the Mobile Market, Corroto said Andrews House provides several additional services to the disadvantaged in the area including: a free summer lunch program for children; Grace Clinic, which offers free medical care for the uninsured weekly; and, a legal clinic, which provides free legal service for those who qualify.

“My favorite part of my job is getting to know the people in the community, from the volunteers to the people we serve and everyone in between,” Corroto said.