Who We Are

We formed Endeavoring to Do Better at Reunion 2018 out of concern that Carleton College wasn’t doing enough to deter campus assault or care for its survivors. We settled on a mission, identified a comprehensive set of objectives, and began the research presented on these pages.

To meet our objective of investigating our community history, we reviewed hundreds of pages of documents, including legal proceedings and every issue of the Carletonian from 1960 to the present, discovering the work courageous students undertook to demand safety and equal access to education. Four survivors of campus assault at Carleton made national history: their activism led directly to legislation establishing standards for all federally funded institutions of higher learning.

We also learned that Carleton has at times, across multiple decades, failed its community, devaluing some students’ experiences, in particular prioritizing the educations of sexual offenders over those of survivors.

We began hearing from other alums, as well as their family members and friends, who confirmed that it isn’t just the survivors of assaults who are affected by campus sexual violence. Their reflections are posted on First Person Accounts.

We regret the injustices members of our own community have had to endure, and we care about Carleton’s character and integrity. Ignoring the former puts the latter in jeopardy. Colleges will probably always have to deal with sexual assaults. But it’s part of Carleton’s remit to do the best it can to protect students both before and after they occur. We hope this site will inspire everyone—students, alums, administrators, faculty, and staff—to hold Carleton to the highest possible standard. Carleton must do better.