While college activism is rooted in providing voice and power to oppressed student groups, asexual spectrum identifying students have been overlooked and pushed to the side—especially in anti-sexual violence movements. And this issue is happening right here at Colgate University. Through a presentation exploring asexuality’s lack of recognition and belonging within the Yes Means Yes, Take Back the Night, and Abolish Greek Life college movements in the United States, we will learn about how these movements, including the ones at Colgate, erase and invalidate asexual survivors. By discussing how narrow mission statements, generalized language, and allonormative history are used to create anti-sexual violence events in these organizations, we will learn about how compulsory sexuality is being applied in these movements to erase asexual experiences. The presentation argues that the college movements: Yes Means Yes, Take Back the Night, and Abolish Greek Life are creating narrow understandings of survivors of sexual violence and their experiences, othering asexual-identifying students in the college anti-sexual violence movements.

Workshop Speaker
R Hunsicker (e/they) is a Class of 2024 women’s, gender, and sexuality Studies major and LGBTQ+ & PCON double minor from Lake George, NY. E specializes in asexuality and trans* studies with an interest in LGBTQ+ health and intersex studies. Outside of the scholarly space, e loves to read queer fantasy books, play d&d, hike, volunteer, and cat sit. R is currently the secretary and treasurer of Colgate LAMBDA, founder and president of Trans* Advocacy Group (T.A.G.), Internal Communications Chair of Tredecim Honor Society, student intern at LGBTQ+ Initiatives, and a research assistant in LGBTQ+ Studies. Throughout their time at Colgate, R has been the treasurer and tea specialist of Tea Club, secretary of the Colgate Raider Pep Band, Student Mentor in Madison Mentors, Women’s Studies student intern, and the Colgate Student Coalition Publications Committee Liaison. R is currently applying to PhD programs to pursue an interest in asexuality studies within women’s, gender, and sexuality studies.

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