This piece was co-written with Emily Wang.
Walking through the University, you would expect to be secure, safe, and protected. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Students at AUI—like students anywhere—have long been victims of harassment and bullying, events not unique to Al Akhawayn University but which can harm students and leave them with devastating, long-term impacts.
To fight interpersonal violence, the No Violence Alliance (NoVA) was initiated in 2000 as a weapon against violence. For 19 years, NoVA was run by AUI faculty members to educate about and fight against bullying, sexual harassment, and violence, by hosting workshops, campus activities, and conferences. However, NoVA was officially suspended by the University in July 2020, leaving in its place a gap to fill for supporting AUI students who have had experiences with bullying, harassment and assault.
NoVA’s absence created a new urgency for addressing the matter, as students did not know where to report their crises. Some went to the Student Government Association (SGA), and some went to the First Year Experience (FYE) office, but for the past few months, there has been no formalized process for assisting students in distress. This has been alarming, particularly after students have displayed serious concerns about the value given to mental health or the lack of support when it comes to facing violence and bullying. Consequently, the SGA announced on February 23 a new entity that is being incorporated within our community: the Student Safety Force (SSF).
What is the Student Safety Force (SSF)?
The Student Safety Force is a new entity created to ensure the serenity of the campus. If students have been under aggressive intimidation or have been pressured into doing things against their will, they can contact SSF and report any form of bullying, harassment or abuse, whether physical, emotional, verbal, or sexual. Likewise, bystanders and witnesses to such behavior are also encouraged to report this to the SSF. When such behavior is reported, the SSF will contact students with follow-up, escalating to the DSA and Student Life office when requested.
The student representatives of the SSF also plan to host awareness campaigns to inform students about the severe consequences that their actions can have, not only on the victims or survivors of violence, but also on themselves, as the aggressors. They hope that building a campus-wide awareness campaign will contribute to constructing a more inspiring and supportive community. Finally, the SSF will raise awareness during the New Student Orientation, creating presentations, events and activities during new students’ first initiation in the AUI community. In summary, the SSF intends to provide the community with the positivity dose that it has been needing and contribute to building a stress-free, danger-free zone within the gates of the University.
Bullying, violence, and harassment: the call to intervene and educate
We spoke to several current and former AUIers about their experience of bullying and sexual harassment, their view on the institution’s efforts to combat interpersonal violence, as well as their hopes and expectations for the SSF moving forwards.
Selma*, a current AUI student, shared her story about previous NoVA initiatives that she attended before NoVA was retired. In her first semester, Selma attended Safe Circle meetings, a NoVA program that provided a space for students to share and discuss their personal, sometimes troubling experiences on campus.
“What it consisted of was a bunch of students just gathering and talking about their experiences,” Selma recalled. “It made us feel really, really safe and noticed…because we were all there supporting each other. Nobody judged one another, even when you told some deeper stuff, which would actually take you time to say. Nobody judged you, and regardless of their faith or religion.”
With the removal of NoVA, and even in such a short time since NoVA’s suspension in July 2020, Selma has felt that toxicity in campus culture has significantly increased. “I think the issue with NoVA’s removal is not just about where to go to, or who to go to, but it was mostly about the disappearance of a power or an authority because knowing that something exists that protects the survivors…just disappeared makes you not think about the consequences,” said Selma. “And that is what happened last semester, because you would find a bunch of 17 year-olds coming in and harassing women and girls that were much older than them. You would find people being judged about their sexuality openly, laughed at, things like that, which was not really accepted when NoVA was here.”
Although Selma, like many other AUI students, stresses the importance of a campus organization dedicated exclusively to anti-harassment and anti-bullying activities, other students have also expressed the need for such an organization to operate with greater efficacy. Fatima Zahra*, another current AUI student, recalls a NoVA phone call she made for a friend in crisis. When she found her friend crying one day, her friend revealed that her boyfriend threatened to commit suicide if she did not stay with him. Fatima Zahra immediately called NoVA’s emergency phone line, after which she felt that the urgency and threat of physical and emotional violence were not appropriately handled.
“On my way there [to her friend’s boyfriend], I called NoVA. I told them, listen, I think my friend is about to commit suicide…He threatened to grab a knife,” Fatima Zahra confided to us. “[NoVA] told me, ‘Here’s what you’re going to do. You’re going to call a counselor, and you’re going to explain the situation to them and see what they’re going to tell you to do.’ I’m like, ‘I’m sorry, but there’s literally no time to wait for a counselor to answer me.’ What I was expecting was for them to bring a security guy to the location and try to stop him, or if he already grabbed a knife, then remove it from him, even by force.”
Fatima Zahra did not hear a follow-up for another week, after which NoVA called her, and merely asked if the incident was settled. Additionally, she also described feeling that NoVA was unreachable at times of most need. Although one of NoVA’s ongoing student services was a 24/7 phone line, Fatima Zahra described calling NoVA a few times in the early morning with zero response.
Of course, organizations like NoVA can only serve their purpose if and when the victims of violence report such violence. Despite promised confidentiality and anonymity, not all students have felt that they could take advantage of such a service. Bullying, and especially harassment or assault, are sensitive topics, what some students feel represent dirty laundry that they do not feel comfortable airing, even in a closed space.
“[G]irls have talked to me about sexual harassment. Some were scared to testify, or [felt] that the person who committed the crime has powerful connections.”
Samir*, an AUI alumnus
With some controversy, other students have debated whether an anti-harassment and anti-bullying campaign should be run by students. Some students feel that a student-run organization—like the SSF—could better represent and protect victims of violence, and that a faculty or staff presence—like in NoVA—either makes students more uncomfortable to report or creates a power dynamic when the accused is a faculty or staff member. On the other hand, other students have commented that a faculty and staff-run organization can be more effective at fulfilling their role, especially when qualified professionals and full-time workers—not student members who also must study full-time—dedicate their time to students in distress.
Although sexual harassment is often associated with female students, especially recently during discussions over the school dress code, they are not its only survivors. Bullying—in a sexually-based context or otherwise—also can affect students of all backgrounds.
Mouad* was a current AUIer who was accused of harassment by an AUI alumna on a public platform—the “Student Community at AUI” Facebook group—explains that he did not even know the accuser more than meeting her once briefly, but unconfirmed rumors and taunts began flying around campus as facts for months. Mouad described, “She said some things that didn’t happen. This person has experience, and they’re older, and they have more security.”
Despite the fact that Mouad maintained his innocence, he soon became subject of intense bullying because of the accusation. However, the support of an anti-bullying organization helped him through the emotional trauma, and eventually the bullying died out. “Everyday I got a rape joke—‘How is my favorite rapist doing?” Mouad recalled. “[NoVA] helped me out by giving me someone who could listen to me, give me advice and try to follow standard procedure.”
Like Selma, Mouad has felt that the presence of an anti-bullying and anti-harassment organization is better than none. He says, “The real problem these days is that NoVA doesn’t exist anymore.”
(* Names were changed for privacy reasons.)
Who works at the SSF?
The SSF is a new subdivision of SGA, run by a board elected by the SGA senators, who will be responsible for organizing awareness campaigns, support group sessions, and campus-wide talks. Additionally, the SSF will be the first source of contact for any violence situation that students express. The SGA plans to manage cases the way affected student(s) see fit, for example preserving anonymity when requested. When students request to refer cases, the SGA will support and represent students through their interactions with the Dean of Student Affairs (DSA) or the Director of Campus.
Knowing that the SSF is run by students, it is most likely that violence victims and witnesses would feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts and speaking for their rights.
“[E]verything that is recorded/reported is done according to how the student sees fit”
SGA, Official Statement in “Student Community at AUI”
How can students contact the SSF?
Any student who has been the victim of bullying, harassment, or violence case may contact the SSF through their official email: sff@aui.ma
In case students feel a need to get immediate support, and if they want to express their contemplation about matters regarding bullying, harassment, or mental health, they are requested to contact SSF. The SSF does not leak its reports and respects 100% anonymity and confidentiality.
