About Us

The Office of Student Advocacy seeks to assist students experiencing difficult circumstances or hardships to discover strategies for managing crisis and personal challenges, as well as connect them with campus and community resources that can support their personal and educational goals.

The Office of Student Advocacy at Butler University aims to support survivors of sexual and interpersonal violence in advocating for their own path towards healing and pursue the reporting path that best suits their individual needs.

The Office of Student Advocacy provides students with educational opportunities to take on an active role in effecting a positive and supportive social environment by being active bystanders, challenging damaging cultural norms through activism, and creating a safer and inclusive environment for the Butler community.

All currently enrolled students are welcome to utilize the response and prevention services of the Office of Student Advocacy. We serve all racial, ethnic, religious, class backgrounds, sexual orientations, and gender and social identities.

Our Values

  • Student-Empowerment: We recognize that students are the experts on their own lives and experiences. It is our aim to assist and empower students to pursue the path that best suits their individual needs in a safe and supportive environment.
  • Support: We support students in their educational endeavors and personal goals and will support them through case management strategies and connect them with the campus or local resources that can best help them achieve those goals.
  • Student-Centeredness: We aim to foster student growth and leadership through education, collaboration, and partnerships, educating and supporting students at their developmental level through our work.
  • Education and Hope: Our world is full of challenges, obstacles, crisis, and trauma that can oftentimes feel overwhelming and intractable. We believe that through supportive case management services and evidence-based educational programming, we can foster a culture of hope and resilience amongst our students.

Confidentiality

Your safety and well-being are the primary concerns of the Office of Student Advocacy.

The Director of Student Advocacy is designated as a Confidential Resource for survivors of sexual misconduct, meaning that they have no reporting obligations to Title IX or law enforcement. All information is kept confidential and does not initiate the sexual misconduct investigation process.

Limitations to Confidentiality

All information gathered by the Director of Student Advocacy is held in confidence, with few notable and legal exceptions, including:

  • An immediate danger of serious harm to someone (self or others) that requires information be released to prevent the harm from happening
  • The Director of Student Advocacy is court ordered to release information

For all other students experiencing challenges other than sexual misconduct, these meetings will be kept private with only those individuals with a legitimate need to know being alerted to relevant information (i.e. sharing information with Financial Aid if a student is experiencing financial insecurity, etc).