Good Voices: Rachel Campbell

Good voices: Rachel Campbell

The world is filled with good people, and sometimes it’s hard to hear the good voices, but I have been honoured to be friends with one of them. Rachel Campbell is Second year Honours in Political Science at Carleton University.

Throughout high school, Rachel had been a positive voice, radiating to the world around her. Even in tough situations, she’d bring light, and a positive outlook to things.

I always knew she’d make a change in the world, a great change, and this e-interview gives a brief insight into what she is doing. One thing in particular has recently caught my attention in her work.

“I have recently discovered a passion for women’s rights and raising awareness for the sexual assault on university campuses.”

Rachel has started a petition, trying to raise awareness, and educate people on sexual assault. An article you can check here:

https://commonground.ideascale.com/a/idea-v2/245629

I asked her if I could share the link (check above), and what motivated her to focus on this specifically.

“I would absolutely LOVE if you shared the link! Thank you so much! This proposal was a long time coming. This my long and (rather boring) story of how I found my passion and desperately feel that consent education needs to be mandated in schools. I was in the second week of first year that I got a text from a friend. She said that we needed to talk and when I came to her room, she disclosed to me that she had been sexually assault the night prior. I was completely speechless except for the phrases “I am so sorry,” and “This is not your fault.” I knew enough to know not ask if she had been drinking or what she was wearing, but I still felt very ill equipped to deal with this situation.

This feeling persisted as we tried to navigate how to move forward in a new city with few familiar faces. If my friend’s disclosure was a catapult into my interest for sexual assault awareness, the rest of my journey was slow and oblivious.

It transgressed into a keen interest in Law and Order: SVU then witnessing Rona Ambrose discuss her bill to mandate that judges should receive sexual assault education. From here, I debated whether or not I felt empowered or disempowered by using the word slut, I read Eleanor Roosevelt’s vivid depiction of the role of a woman in her era before I read Carleton University’s sexual assault policy.

My journey had come full circle as I arrived back to where it all started and decided that we needed to do something about sexual assault on university campuses. I then published an article in the Charlatan, our school newspaper, about the prevalence of sexual assault during fall orientation week and the potential to use this week for education. This morphed into a partnership with the Our Turn Sexual Assault Coalition on Campus before I branched out on my own in presenting a proposal for mandating consent education in school curriculum.”

If anyone wants to sign the petition, the link is above, and can also be found here:

https://commonground.ideascale.com/a/idea-v2/245629

I asked Rachel if she had any advice for people who want to make a difference.

“I would advise people who want to make a change to find something you are REALLY, REALLY passionate about because the countless hours you spend working for your cause is not only exhilarating, but it is 100x more compelling when people can witness your passion in your voice and body. I really enjoyed volunteering in high school and lunged at every new opportunity. Although, I did not always have the longest track record with said volunteer placements, I was eager to try all of them in an effort to find my right fit. I spent many hours running around with kids and feeding the elderly before I realized educating people about sexual assault and the need for consent education is what makes my heart happy! It sounds very bizarre, but passion is a spectacular and rare thing so when people witness it in you, it will do wonders for your cause. People, however, have been telling me this for nearly a decade and it was only in my first year of university that I discovered what it was so my advice for finding your passion is say “yes” to every opportunity. You don’t have to stay long, but the odds are in your favour that you eventually find something that makes your blood boil and head spin in effort to fix it.”

Rachel is always raising her voice, trying to make a difference. From suggesting the use of ECOSIA, a search engine that literally helps plant trees, to speaking out about the ban on hunting elephants.

Check out the links here:

ECOSIA: https://www.ecosia.org

ELEPHANT HUNTING: https://secure.avaaz.org/campaign/en/trump_vs_elephants_34/?fhwVIab

Rachel is also a strong advocate of women’s rights, and I have had the honour to be someone who spends time with her.

I asked her if she had anything she can say to the girls who want to be in powerful and influencing positions, but feel hesitant about it, due to the societal roles that have been restricting.

“I would say dive in head first! Woman often have a much higher standard that they need fulfill than men in order to either apply or run for a position, thus many qualified women are losing leadership positions because they don’t even bother putting their name in the hat meanwhile an equally qualified man now has the job. Thus, I advise to always apply, in part, regardless of your resume for corporations post their highest standard for acceptance and there are only good things to gain from applying. A “No, we are not interested,” or “You are not qualified,” just means you have more work to do! I would also say go forward having confidence that many men and women just want to see a qualified and competent individual, regardless of gender, in the role that you are debating fulfilling. That is not to say that you will not experience push back, criticism or discouraging comments, but you must remember these individuals are not representative of the entire office/population and their comments do not actually make you any less qualified or competent so APPLY, APPLY, APPLY!!! “

“Women are starting to get the recognition they deserve, and the roles they are fighting for. Do you have any advice for women who are in this position?”

“Saviour and relish in any praise you receive. You enjoy it for both yourself and the millions of women that came before you who were denied. Wear it with pride and remember the women who worked tirelessly and honourably, but were told that their work was insignificant because it did not earn a paycheck. A win for one woman is a win for decades of women.”

Some praise should go to Rachel as well.Her days are already busy with school, as is every student’s, but Rachel will be adding another busy bunch of days to her schedule.

“I am travelling with Carleton’s Alternative Spring Break program during the February reading week to help the locals in building a library and computer lab in Namaldi, Costa Rica. This is a community service learning based trip, which means that both parties will engage in reciprocal learning. ASB is also a large proponent of self-reflection in order to get the most out of the experience.

A typical day looks like this:

7:30am

Breakfast in community

8:30am

Start work at work site

12:00pm

Lunch in community

1:00pm

Continue work at work site and interact with the community and/or cultural activity such as visiting a local market

5:00pm

Dinner in community

6:00pm

Group reflection and spend time with the community

7:00pm

Individual reflection or soccer game with local children

10:00pm

Sleep and re-energize for next day’s adventure”

Rachel is an amazing person, who is going to make a positive change in the world. Check out her article and sign the petition:

https://commonground.ideascale.com/a/idea-v2/245629

If you know anyone who is making a positive change in the world, and who wants to share their story, send a link to our email found on our contact page.

Article by Katherine Ross

#GoodVoices #TWSexualAssault #Empowerment