Over the past few years, students, staff, faculty and alumni at the University of Michigan have addressed on-campus sexual misconduct through activism, policy development and increased discourse. While these developments are critical to changing campus culture, we believe it is also important to re-center the stories of survivors in the broader cultural conversation on campus.
With that in mind, the Opinion section has space for first-person accounts of sexual misconduct and its various implications. In Survivors Speak, submissions underpinned by the experience of survivors will be published, aiming to highlight their essential perspectives.
If you have experienced sexual misconduct and would like to participate in the University-wide and national conversation, please submit a piece on your experience — this can include the context of the misconduct, the aftermath of the trauma and what being a survivor means to you. We welcome pieces from students, staff, faculty and alumni of all gender identities. You may include specific details of the misconduct that took place, but please keep in mind that we hope to focus this series on the impact of sexual misconduct, particularly relative to your campus experience (though the misconduct does not need to have taken place on campus).
This series is meant to highlight a variety of experiences to show the nuance of sexual misconduct experiences and impacts. We will read your pieces without judgment or assumptions of guilt. If you have reported your experience and the case has gone through the University or legal system, and you reference details of this part of your experience, make sure to provide documentation as a part of The Daily’s fact-checking protocol.
Ultimately, we are seeking to provide a space for survivors, particularly those who may not have previously had an outlet to share their stories, as well as to share nuanced statements on sexual misconduct and how these experiences relate to the University.
To be considered for publication, please submit pieces to Editorial Page Editors Quin Zapoli (qzapoli@umich.edu) and Julian Barnard (jcbarn@umich.edu) by Nov. 26, 2023 at 11:59 pm.
Format requirements:
- Submissions should not exceed 1,000 words in length and may be submitted as an Op-Ed, personal essay or letter.
- Though we encourage you to include your name in your submission’s byline if possible, we can publish your submission anonymously due to the sensitive nature of the subject. If you choose to publish anonymously or with a pseudonym, your name would be confidentially disclosed only to the relevant Daily editors (Editorial Page Editors, managing editor and editors in chief) and will not be released for any reason other than legal obligation. If you have concerns or questions, feel free to reach out for more details.
- We cannot publish pieces that name the accused in the vast majority of cases. This space is made specifically for survivors to voice their experiences, rather than for reporting purposes. See the resources below if you want more information on reporting sexual misconduct.
- Everything published in the Opinion section must follow The Daily’s style rules and standards for factual accuracy, and we reserve the right to alter wording when necessary to uphold those standards. If your piece is selected for publication, you will be involved in our editing process.
- We do not guarantee publication of each piece we receive.
- If you would like to submit a piece about sexual assault but are not a survivor yourself, we highly encourage you to submit it as an Op-Ed to the Opinion section by emailing it to tothedaily@michigandaily.com. For Op-Ed guidelines, please see the guidelines on The Daily’s website here.
Resources for survivors: We understand that writing your experience can be emotionally challenging. We want to remind you that the following organizations and campus groups are available for support:
Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center
Spectrum Center, Counseling and Psychological Services
U-M Psychological ClinicU-M Sexual and Gender-Based Misconduct Reporting and Resources