A letter written 10 years ago this month sparked the beginning of an organization that would go on to provide nationally recognized services to CMU.

The letter from associate professor Steve Thompson to Dean of Students Bruce Roscoe would be the first step in establishing Sexual Aggression Peer Advocates.

“My letter expressed the irritation I had with certain comments made in the newspaper at the time,” Thompson said. “I felt there was no coordinated response to sexual aggression at all.”

It was Roscoe’s idea to look at establishing a coordinator position, Thompson said.

Thompson was offered the position as coordinator of CMU Sexual Aggression Services.

“When I was first offered the position, I wanted to create an organization where students were involved as advocates,” Thompson said.

Early on, many people did not believe students were mature enough to deal with sexual aggression issues. It took some convincing to get the university officials to support the organization, Thompson said.

“Steve and I share the same values when it comes to providing a service to any student who experiences sexual aggression,” Roscoe said. “Steve really is a unique individual. It is his efforts and his commitment to this idea that has led to the success of SAPA.”

The average community advocate is trained for 16 hours, but Thompson made sure each student advocate was trained for at least 40 hours before they began volunteering.

Commitment to confidentiality

Romulus junior Rebecca Thornton has been an active member of SAPA for more than a year.

“I think it’s important for students to have peers that they can relate to and trust,” Thornton said.

Students who contact SAPA have their call kept confidential.

“Confidentiality is very important to SAPA,” Thompson said. “Students feel more comfortable to talk to an advocate when they know they don’t need to give their personal information if they don’t want to.”

Steve McAllister, former graduate assistant for SAPA, became the sexual violence prevention coordinator at Pennsylvania’s Lehigh University after his time at CMU.

“SAPA hasn’t just had an impact at Central Michigan; it has had an impact across the United States,” McAllister said. “Everyone who has left SAPA continues the work they started at Central – to end violence against women and children.”

McAllister started an organization similar to SAPA at Lehigh based on the knowledge he gained at CMU.

“It is such a great cause and people are so passionate about it,” McAllister said. “It isn’t something you stop doing when you leave. Even those who went into different careers still do volunteer work on the side.”

This year, SAPA started a new program called SAPA Chat, which is the first and only online university advocacy program.

“SAPA Chat is an example of one of the great ideas that have come from our advocates,” Thompson said.

SAPA is accepting applications for advocacy positions until March 13.

Phone numbers:

SAPA 24-Hour Crisis Hotline, 774-2255
SAPA Chat, sapa.cmich.edu, 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Wednesdays
Sexual Assault Services, 774-6677

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