The college is yet to find a replacement in the wake of the departure of Katy Bednarsky, Lafayette’s former student advocacy and prevention coordinator, who left the college in late July. This has left programs such as Peer Anti-Violence Educators and Pards Against Sexual Assault with limited staff support.
The college has since made efforts to hire a new student advocacy and prevention coordinator, with discussions starting over the summer. These attempts have so far been unsuccessful.
“[We’re trying to] figure out what it is about the position that didn’t attract the right person, [looking back] to see if the salary is ranked correctly, if … the scope of work is attractive,” vice president for student life Sarah Moschenross said. “We’re going to be looking at those kinds of things and then relaunching the search for the position.”
Moschenross said that she foresees the search relaunch will begin “either this semester or early next semester.”
In the meantime, Peer Anti-Violence Educators, commonly referred to as PAVE, has been working under the guidance of Dean of Students Brian Samble, who declined to comment on the role and deferred all personnel questions to Moschenross.
PAVE student peer educators have had to take on some of the tasks that Bednarsky shouldered. This has created an additional challenge for peer educators, with some students missing Bednarksy and her impact on the college.
“[Bednarsky] helped with a lot more coordination, like planning events and also connecting us to outside resources,” peer educator William Reynolds ‘24 said.
“I worked very closely with [Bednarksy] to organize and facilitate different events and workshops,” PAVE coordinator Carter Siegel ’24 wrote in an email. “Her role is very important not just to PAVE but to the college as a whole.”
With peer educators hoping for a new PAVE advisor in the future, many are prioritizing patience and looking for the best possible fit.
“We look forward to this position being filled, but we do not want this decision to be rushed, as it is an important role on campus,” Siegel wrote.
Despite the setbacks, Moschenross emphasized that finding a new student advocacy and prevention coordinator remains a priority for the college.
“We know [this position] is important and that students have been feeling the loss of a person in that role,” Moschenross said. “We’re committed to filling it.”
Reynolds remains optimistic about the future of PAVE.
“I think we are still known as an organization, I think we still have a very good direction,” he said. “I think for any organization, having that much change up so early on is kind of … disruptive. I do have high hopes for the future, but it has made [running PAVE] a bit more technically difficult.”
