As this school year comes to an end, we would like to congratulate all Tompkins County 2021 graduates! We wish you the best as you begin to navigate new adventures & intentions. Truly, all students, staff, educators and families who adjusted their norms this past year to meet COVID-related precautions deserve praise — this was no easy feat. 

We would like to especially thank those who have demonstrated a commitment towards preventing sexual & relationship violence. Whether that looked like including the Advocacy Center in part of your health class curriculum, challenging statements that perpetuate rape culture, or otherwise; your influence –no matter how seemingly subtle– makes a real difference. 

For their pronounced efforts in alignment with our agency’s mission, two Tompkins County high school students have been selected to receive special honors. 

Senior IHS student, Daniel Copeland, was chosen as the recipient of an Advocacy Center Outstanding Youth Activist Award. Dani has been involved with our student activism group, ACTion, since its conception, and has been an intern at the agency for the last year. As an intern, Dani has been exploring the ways that consent intersects with youth theater culture –where conversations about consent are missing in theater, as well as how to cultivate more survivor-centered & preventative practices within that realm. Dani plans to attend Hamilton College in the fall as a Public Policy major on the Pre-Law track. 

Senior LACS student, Cayden Lyons, was selected to receive an Advocacy Center Distinguished Service Award. Cayden’s leadership throughout the past year moved conversations about sexual harassment and assault prevention at LACS to a deeper, more explicit, and proactive level. This spring Cayden designed and co-facilitated a powerful all-staff discussion considering ways –small or big– that staff can create a culture and practices to make students safer and reduce the likelihood of sexual harassment and assault. The ideas from that meeting will guide training, discussions and practices at the school next year.  

Thank you both for your commitment to preventing sexual and relationship violence, and for supporting survivors! 

And again, congratulations to all those teaching, supporting, and/or learning within our Tompkins County school districts. We hope you have a lovely summer!

If you would like to connect with our Youth Educator, Katrina Clark, to discuss youth volunteering or programs for youth that you work with, please email her at kclark@actompkins.org