Mia Hutchins-Cabibi ’06 of East Derri, NH, (Concord High School)
works to change the way people think about sexual violence, which
can happen anywhere. Mia is a major part of St. Lawrence’s
sexual violence education movement: she is an Advocate and is on
the Sexual Assault Advisory Board. She also holds an executive
position on the Thelomathesian Society, where she is also
the sexual violence education liaison.
During her
junior year, Mia, with the help of a few friends, created “Go Beyond”, a
program that not only allows students to share testaments about their
own experiences with sexual violence, but also has skits, songs,
and even raps in order to further educate St. Lawrence about sexual
violence. The first one was in the spring
of 2005, and Mia says it was a complete success. “It was really powerful,” she
says. “We had over 250 people attend”
St.
Lawrence administration have helped Mia and her efforts. “The
deans have given me much support over the past four years. [Interim Dean
of Student Life Margaret Kent Bass] created the Sexual Violence
Advisory Board, and [Associate Dean Rance Davis] was able
to provide the funds for me to stay here last summer to compile more
data and conduct more research,” Mia
says. “It is crucial education, from accurate information,
that is the foundation of the movement. Every paper I
have written or event I coordinated has been based on showing why sexual
violence needs to end, opposed to simply stating it.”
The movement
at St. Lawrence will only continue to grow once Mia graduates, as the
university has recently received a $250,000 grant from the Department of Justice to
help educate people on how to end violence against women. “Jessica
Parillo of Counseling Services was extraordinary in orchestrating
the proposal, and with the grant, we can now do a number of things,
including hiring a person to work directly with the advocates and
address sexual violence on campus,” she
says.
After
St. Lawrence, Mia plans on moving internationally and continuing her
work with sexual violence. She also intends to attend graduate school,
in hopes of furthering her ability to make a difference.
