Coahoma Community College News May 8, 2020 Student Conduct Board Focuses on Inclusivity in Training The Dating and Domestic Violence Prevention Program's Student Conduct Board honed in on making the institution's student conduct policy more inclusive. In an online interactive training conducted by Dr. Patricia Davenport, executive director and co-founder of the Greenville-based intervention resource, Our House, Incorporated, members of the board were lectured on providing a student-friendly policy. Davenport recommended incorporating a visible and streamlined process for domestic violence victims to follow when they seek to file a report. She mentioned the assignment of an advocate as well as an 'outside counselor.' "Sometimes, a victim may feel better with a stranger than with someone who knows their history," said Davenport. After commending the student conduct policy's discouragement of cyberbullying, she pointed out that the offender is not the only person that pressures the victim into not filing a report. The pressure could also come from the campus community. Seeking to underscore the inclusivity of students associated with the LGBTQ community, Davenport asked the board members to listen to the testimony of Vinceysha Bunton-Mackin, an employee of Our House, who experienced sexual assault as a child. "I am a survivor of rape and a secondary survivor of domestic violence," said Mackin. "For years, I blamed myself, and I refused to open up about it. I just totally changed as a person." She eventually regained her confidence. "I consider myself a pansexual, meaning that I don't fall in love with a gender; I fall in love with a person regardless of their gender," she added. Mackin emphasized that it is more helpful to show concern instead of curiosity. She encouraged responding with, 'I'm sorry this happened to you.' The 21-year-old believes that teaching young men that no means no rather than educating young women on what not to wear can help put an end to sexual assault and domestic violence. Davenport offered the idea of forming a support group for LGBTQ students at Coahoma Community College and suggested that the student conduct board become familiar with the common language used within the LGBTQ community. For more information, contact program coordinator Kenneth Gooden at (662)645-1907 or kgooden@coahomacc.edu<mailto:kgooden@coahomacc.edu>. Contact prevention liaison and coordinator of counseling services Dr. Renee Hall at (662)457-6635 or rsanford@coahomacc.edu<mailto:rsanford@coahomacc.edu>. SANDRA M. PHOENIX HBCU Library Alliance Executive Director Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library 111 James P. Brawley Drive SW Atlanta GA 30314 404-978-2118 (office) 404-702-5854 (cell) http://www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> Honor the ancestors, honor the children and those yet to come. Building Capacity for Humanities Special Collections at HBCUs - Become an ally and partner with us to protect, preserve and share a more authentic record of American history. Follow this link http://hbculibraries.org/humanities-2019.html for more information. Follow this link http://hbculibraries.org/ and click on the Donate Now button to invest in this project. Your support is appreciated. Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ and Twitter at https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/