Cornell Rape Case: Letter to the KAMARIA Community

We can be ANGRY, but Let's DO Something!

To our Kamaria Community,

The public conversation surrounding the Cornell sexual assault case is painful, complicated, and increasingly divisive.

There will be arguments about what happened. There will be questions about how the university responded, how law enforcement and prosecutors handled the case, and whether the systems intended to protect students worked as they should have. There will be anger. There will be people taking sides.

Accountability matters. Institutions should be accountable. Those entrusted with investigating allegations should be accountable. And when wrongdoing is established, those responsible should be held accountable.

But accountability alone is not the mission that brought Kamaria and Restore Dignity into existence.

We want change.

There is a young woman who was forced to leave school and abandoned her path forward due to this sexual trauma. We want every Survivor to achieve their dreams and continue the path they chose for themselves. This is why we support student Survivors, so their education can be protected at the time it matters most.

We created Restore Dignity because, after the headlines fade and the arguments move on, a young person who has experienced sexual assault may still be trying to stay in school, pay tuition, find safe housing, receive counseling, replace lost income, or simply put a life back together.

And that is where we believe each of us has power to act.

Our Kamaria medallion carries the words:

Use Your Power. Restore Our Dignity.

Those words have always meant something very specific to us:

• If your power is the ability to listen, listen.
• If your power is the ability to offer compassion before judgment, offer it.
• If your power is the ability to give financially, help someone remain in school or regain stability.
• If your power is employment, give someone an opportunity to rebuild.
• If your power is professional expertise, counseling, advocacy, teaching, medicine, law, or mentorship, use it to help someone heal.

And If your power is simply refusing to participate in cruelty, humiliation, rumor, or speculation, use that power too. Power does not have to be enormous to matter. And power can be used in two very different ways. It can be used to attack, shame, judge, sensationalize, and deepen divisions. Or it can be used to restore dignity.

At Kamaria, we choose the latter.

Ten percent of proceeds from every Kamaria purchase supports our own non-profit,RestoreDignity.com, which provides direct financial assistance to college students who have experienced sexual assault. Over the past several yearswe have helped more than 60 students rebuild their lives. But our hope has always been bigger than the dollars we contribute.

We want to create a community that asks different questions.

Not simply: “Whose side are you on?”

But:

• What can I do?
• What can I do to make a Survivor’s life a little easier?
• What can I do to make our institutions better?
• What can I do to make it safer for someone to come forward?
• What can I do to listen without rushing to judgment?
• What power do I have — however small — that could restore some of what another person has lost?

The Cornell case will generate enormous discussion. We hope it generates something more important as well.

Action.

Compassion.

Accountability.

Change.

Please remember toUse Your Power. Restore Our Dignity.

With gratitude,

Ellie, Kristen, and Katie

Survivors

Anne

Director, Restore Dignity