By Regina Stracqualursi '15
Siena College sociology major Delaney Rives ’15 was recently featured on MSNBC’s website, “Women in Politics: College Edition” for her leadership and advocacy on behalf of women’s rights and abuse prevention. Associate Professor of Political Science Laurie Naranch, Ph.D. nominated Rives for the piece.
“Delaney is the whole package of an empowered student leader,” said Naranch. “She brings together passion, intellect, and action to create positive change by mobilizing women and men to combat sexual violence, develop positive body images, and to foster human rights.”
Rives was shocked to learn that she had been selected to represent Siena College in the national media. “I think I may have actually started crying,” said Rives. “Reflecting back on my initial attitude, I realized that I was allowing myself to be affected by the socialization of women that tells us we’re not good enough.”
While she is receiving much-deserved attention across the country, the impact of Rives’ work is being felt on campus and throughout the Capital Region. After transferring to Siena for her sophomore year, the native of Austin, Texas became involved with the Sr. Thea Bowman Center for Women because she was deeply interested in women’s empowerment and the barriers that they face in society as a result of their gender. She declared a minor in women’s studies and now serves as a prevention educator.
“It allows me the chance to make a difference,” said Rives. “In my work as a rape crisis counselor I can only help survivors after they’ve experienced a traumatic experience, while doing prevention work can help to educate the community about these issues before they happen.”
Rives is co-president of Siena's Peer Education and Empowerment Program, known as P.E.E.P., she serves on Siena’s Anti-Violence Task Force and works as a rape crisis hotline volunteer for the Albany County Crime Victims and Sexual Violence Center.
Along with her activism, Rives is analyzing the issues through an academic lens. Last semester, she presented research at the New York State Sociological Association Annual Meeting. Her research project was called, “Feminist Identity Development and Activism on the Catholic College Campus.”
"The experience of presenting at the conference was invaluable to my development as a scholar and provided me the opportunity to gain further insight on my research before continuing the project for my sociology capstone,” said Rives.
As graduation approaches, Rives is making decisions for her future based on how she can best serve her community. She hopes to find a job with a local agency where she can work one-on-one with victims of domestic violence or sexual assault before pursuing a graduate school program. She also plans on becoming a certified yoga instructor so that she can continue to help survivors of violence and abuse.
