Campus Sexual Assault

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Feature Story

Overview of New ‘It’s On Us’ Resources

Don’t worry, colleges and universities say ‘It’s On Us’

75 student body presidents sign open letter to Arne Duncan to involve students in sexual assault hearings

It’s On Us National Week of Action - April 13th-April 19th

Biden addresses male role in ending sexual assault at University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign

McCaskill talks sexual assault education, prevention at MU summit

Knapp promises in-person sexual assault education after student lobbying at GW

Student Body President invited to White House to discuss Title IX recommendation

Take Action

IT’S ON US: Three Things Student Body Presidents Can Do This Semester

This fall, It’s On Us will be launching a new back to school initiative to continue the conversation of sexual assault prevention on campuses across the country. On September 17 and 18 we will be asking Student Body Presidents across the country to host campus actions to raise awareness. Please see below for a list of some ideas:

Welcome Back Week(s)

1. Hold a Town Hall with Administrators

Host a town hall on campus with students and administrators upon returning to campus to discuss resources available on campus and answer questions/take suggestions about current sexual assault prevention policies. This can be an event that is co-hosted by student government and school administrators.

Timeline: Week of September 14th

2. Host Student Leadership Roundtable(s)

Host a series of small roundtable discussions or listening series to engage various campus groups on this issue such as Greek life, athletic teams, and student organizations. It’s also important to involve faculty in this conversation. Roundtable discussions are a great way to share your upcoming plans to engage with the campaign and build coalition power on campus to effectively reach more people.

Timeline: Week of September 14th

Resources: Sample invite & agenda

3. Place editorial in campus newspaper

Co-write an op-ed in your student paper with your college/university President or Chancellor about the importance of sexual assault prevention this year and discuss your upcoming plans to work with It’s On Us this year to ensure that discussion is occurring on a campus-level. This is a great way to talk about your agenda on this issue.

Timeline: Week of September 14th

CHANGE CULTURE

1. Run a pledge drive

Generate greater awareness about the issue by promoting the It’s On Us pledge on your campus.

Timeline: Ongoing

Resources: 2014 ItsOnUs.org, branding toolkit

2. Launch a digital education & outreach campaign

Tailor the It’s On Us call to action for your campus community and engage with your student body online. Film your own version of the PSA. Share tips and success stories. Encourage people to sign the It’s On Us pledge.

Timeline: Ongoing

Resources: 2014 ItsOnUs.org, 2014 branding toolkit

3. Host National Week of Action Event(s)

It’s On Us hosts a National Week of Action each semester. Commit to holding leading efforts on your campus surrounding the Fall 2015 and Spring 2016 dates. Last year, we saw more than 650 events nationwide. Make sure your campus is a part of the story this year!

Timeline: November 2015 & March 2016

Resources: ItsOnUs.org, 2014 branding toolkit

Change Policy & Programs

1. Leverage a Task Force

Bring together an intersectional group of student leaders to research and recommend policy and programmatic improvement at your institution. Similarly, if your institution has a related task force or committee, make sure students are involved and take a leadership role in partnership with your administration.

Resources: Stanford Report of the Provosts’ Task Force on Sexual Assault Policies & Practices

Q&A: Co-chairs of the Provost’s Task Force on Sexual Assault Policies and Practices talk about recommendations

Ohio State University Student Government Sexual Violence Task Force Report

American University It’s On Us Report & Recommendations

Timeline: Ongoing

2. Partner with your Title IX coordinator

Sit down with your institution’s Title IX Coordinator to go through the Not Alone recommendations. Identify areas for improvement and how students can support administrators in that process.

Not Alone: Role of the Title IX Coordinator

Office for Civil Rights: Title IX Resource Guide

Timeline: Ongoing

3. Develop a Campus Action Plan

Set goals and make a plan to achieve them. Some of them will take more than one year, so this will be a document that your successors can use to make sure these efforts continue in years ahead.

Not Alone: Guide for Sexual Assault Policies

Timeline: Ongoing

Check out who committed to action with It’s On Us last year

2014-2015 Student Body Presidents Who Signed On

Student Body Presidents Who Have Committed (262 as of 10/14/14)

Julianna Claase	Adelphi University	NY
Sophia Wirth	American University	DC
Cassidy Possehl	Arizona State University	AZ
Frank Smith III	Arizona State University (Downtown)	AZ
Katie Frazier	Arkansas Tech University	AR
Kevin Warman	Baldwin Wallace University	OH
Julia Qian	Barnard College	NY
Alyssa Morgosh	Bates College	ME
Robert Fisher	Baton Rouge Community College	LA
Melantha Jenkins	Bellevue College	WA
Cameron Dieter	Beloit College	WI
Gabriel Ryfer Cohen	Berklee College of Music	MA
Jerry Perdue	Bluefield State College	WV
Bryan Vlok	Boise State University	ID
Richa Kaul	Boston University	MA
Will Nathan*	Bowie State University	MD
Brian Kochheiser	Bowling Green State University	OH
Jason Blumenthal	Bradley University	IL
Kathleen Flynn	Caldwell University	NJ
Zachary Davidson	California Institute of the Arts	CA
Bailey Hamblin*	California Polytechnic State University	CA
Daniel Clark	California State Student Association	CA
Vanessa Bahena	California State University Channel Islands	CA
Christopher Fernandez	California State University Dominguez Hills	CA
Isabelle Franz	California State University Monterey Bay	CA
Tiffany Zaich	California State University Northridge	CA
Joseph Phillips	California State University of Long Beach	CA
Harpreet Bath	California State University, Fullerton	CA
Lauren Lombardo	California State University, Sacramento	CA
Alfredo Jesus Barcenas	California State University, San Bernardino	CA
Taylor Herren	California State Unviersity Chico	CA
Becca Giles	Carleton College	MN
Ian Glasner	Carnegie Mellon	PA
Charles Mahone II	Central Michigan University	MI
Michael Siperly	Centralia College	WA
Dylan Gunnels	Charleston Southern University	SC
Vincent Liberto	Clarkson University	NY
Maddy Thompson	Clemson University	SC
Malcolm Reed	Coker College	SC
Sarah Rende	Colgate University	NY
Ryan Spraker	College of Charleston	SC
William McCurdy II	College of Southern Nevada	NV
Olivia Rodriguez	College of St. Benedict	MN
Alejandro Salazar	Colorado College	CO
Samantha Guinn	Colorado State University	CO
Peter Bailinson	Columbia University	NY
Mitchell Swaney	Cornerstone University	MI
Forum Shah	CUNY Queens College	NY
Casey Dennis	Dartmouth College	NH
Greg Layton	Dixie State University	UT
Joey Gale	Drake University	IA
Lavanya Sunder	Duke University	NC
Reginald Thedford	Eastern Illinois University	IL
Kyle Nicholas	Eastern Kentucky University	KY
Desmond Miller	Eastern Michigan University	MI
Dahir Jigre	Eastern Washington University	WA
Joseph Incorvia	Elon University	NC
Alex Cucchi	Fairfield University	CT
Michael Cepeda	Florida Atlantic University	FL
Hawi Kebede	Florida State College	FL
Philip Abbruscato	George Mason University	VA
Trevor Tezel	Georgetown University	DC
Juawn Jackson	Georgia College & State University	GA
Sri Madhavi Rajasekaran	Georgia Perimeter College	GA
Azell Francis	Georgia Southern University	GA
Conner House	Gonzaga University	WA
Jude Chisom Erondu	Green Mountain College	VT
Lia Parker-Belfer	Hamilton College	NY
Allissa Heim	Hamline University	MN
F. Lawrence Rigby II	Hampton University	VA
Greyson Whitaker	High Point University	NC
Vincent Creer*	Hobart College	NJ
Andrew Harrison	Hope College	MI
Leighton Watson	Howard University	DC
Wesley Smithart	Huntingdon College	AL
Akinade Aderele	Illinois Institute of Technology	IL
Austin Aldag	Illinois Wesleyan University	IL
Andy Braden	Indiana University Bloomington	IN
Emily O’Brien	Indiana University East	IN
Niki DaSilva	Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis	IN
Hillary Kletscher	Iowa State University	IA
Taylor Vollman	James Madison University	VA
Tim Ficke	John Carroll University	OH
Janice Bonsu	Johns Hopkins University	MD
Jasmine Smith*	Johnson & Wales University	CO
Reagan Kays	Kansas State University	KS
Eric Johnson	Kennesaw State University	GA
Marvin Logan	Kent State University	OH
Breana Smith	Kentucky State University	KY
Kevin Pan	Kenyon College	OH
Ashley Torres	La Salle University	PA
Lincoln Boyd	Lewis & Clark College	OR
Amanda Brand	Linfield College School of Nursing	OR
Drew Watson	Lipscomb University	TN
Joseph Gills	Longwood University	VA
Clayton Tufts	Louisiana State University	LA
David Ballard	Louisiana State University Health Shreveport	LA
Brandon Crain	Louisiana State University of Alexandria	LA
Alyssa Perez	Loyola Marymount University	MD
James “Bud” Sheppard	Loyola University New Orleans	LA
Cory Hodson	Loyola University of Maryland	MD
Kyle Whelton	Marquette University	WI
Chrysonthia Horne*	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	MA
Natalie Bata	Miami University	OH
James Conwell	Michigan State University	MI
Larisa Gearhart*	Mills College	CA
Kara Rasmussen	Minnesota State Community and Technical College	MN
Cody Meyer	Minnesota State University Moorhead	MN
Sade Meeks	Mississippi University for Women	MI
Jordan McGee	Missouri State University	MO
Daniel Hager	Missouri Western State University	MO
Katie Price	Mount St. Mary’s University	MD
Cassandra Corrado	New College of Florida	FL
Lucas Almonte	New York City College of Technology	NY
Julia O’Connor	New York University	NY
Carlton Kinard	Newberry College	SC
Charles Holman	Normandale Community College	MN
Makaya Baker	North Arkansas College	AR
Rusty Mau	North Carolina State University	NC
Sarah Russell	North Dakota State University	ND
Jacob Ives	North Park University	IL
Jillian Zuniga	Northern Arizona University	AZ
Joe Frascello	Northern Illinois University	IL
John P. B. Jose	Northern Kentucky University	KY
Cody Uhing	Northwest Missouri State University	MO
Kyla Winey	Northwestern State University	LA
Julia Watson	Northwestern University	IL
Lauren Holler	Ohio Wesleyan University	OH
Beatrize Martinez	Oklahoma City University	OK
Matthew Chuning	Oklahoma State University	OK
Chris Ndiritu	Old Dominion University	VA
Arvin Endino	Olympic College	WA
Kenneth Barnes	Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University	LA
Jordan Schaper	Pittsburg State University	KS
Christopher Ly	Polk State College	FL
Shawon Jackson	Princeton University	NJ
Patrick Boucicault	QueensBorough Community College	NY
Colby Bender	Radford University	VA
Ellen Lundwall	Regis University	CO
Kristine Baffo	Rutgers University	NJ
David McKillop	Saint Anselm College	NH
Elaine Kempf	Samuel Merritt University	CA
John Jarman	Seattle Pacific University	WA
Zack Burton	Shawnee State University	OH
Soraya Attia*	Skidmore College	NY
Caleb Finck	South Dakota State University	SD
Stephanie Travis	Southeastern Louisiana Univeristy	LA
Adrian Miller	Southern Illinois University Carbondale	IL
Nasir Almasri	Southern Illinois University Edwardsville	IL
Amanda McGillvery*	Southwest Tennessee Community College	TN
Karli Ferguson	SOWELA Technical Community College	LA
Mary Pickard	Spelman College	GA
Lindsey Gunnerson	St. Cloud State University	MN
Samantha Mendoza	St. Edward’s University	TX
Rachel Palermo	St. Olaf College	MN
Elizabeth Woodson	Stanford University	CA
Lori Mould	State University of New York Student Assembly	NY
Kainat Malik	SUNY Oneonta	NY
Scott Turner*	SUNY Potsdam	NY
Latisha Blackburn	SUNY Purchase	NY
Jay Johnson	Tarleton State University	TX
Blair Alston*	Temple University	PA
Emily McDonald	Tennessee Tech University	TN
Chelsea Nkrumah	Texas A&M University- Kingsville	TX
Cody Westphal	Texas Christian University	TX
Hayden Hatch	Texas Tech University	TX
Connor Kurtz	The Catholic University of America	DC
Krystal Hoheisel	The College of St. Scholastica	MN
Colin Danly	The College of William & Mary	VA
Nicholas Gumas	The George Washington University	DC
Celia Wright	The Ohio State University	OH
Anand Ganjam	The Pennsylvania State University	PA
Tyler Kissinger	The University of Chicago	IL
David Teagle	The University of New Orleans	LA
Jeffrey George	The University of Southern Mississippi	MS
Joshua Frank	Trinity College	MN
Michael Smith	Trinity International University	IL
Kayla Gunter*	Truman State University	MO
Morgan Wittenberg	Tulane University	LA
Ben Saperstein	Union College	NY
James Ingram	University at Buffalo	NY
Hamilton Bloom	University of Alabama	AL
Anjali Wagle	University of Alabama at Birmingham	AL
Nandish Dayal	University of Alabama in Huntsville	AL
Issac Ortega	University of Arizona	AZ
Virginia Orman	University of Bridgeport	CT
Mila Meldosian*	University of California Berkeley	CA
Devin Badalich*	University of California Los Angeles	CA
Ivan Flores	University of California, Merced	CA
Robby Boparai	University of California, San Diego	CA
Christina Beer	University of Cincinnati	OH
Lora Roberts	University of Colorado Boulder	CO
Ben Page-Gil	University of Delaware	DE
Hayden Johnson	University of Denver	CO
Drew Jacoby	University of Georgia	GA
Stephen Nishihara	University of Hawaii at Manoa	HI
John Locke	University of Houston Downtown	TX
Julie Garner	University of Houston-Clear Lake	TX
Nate Fisher	University of Idaho	ID
Mitch Dickey	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	IL
Patrick Bartoski	University of Iowa	IA
Monali Haldankar	University of Louisville	KY
Patrick Ronk	University of Maryland, College Park	MD
Kelsey McVey*	University of Maryland, Baltimore	MD
Bobby Dishell	University of Michigan	MI
Nakshidil Sadien	University of Michigan-Flint	MI
Joelle Stangler	University of Minnesota	MN
Justin Goodroad	University of Minnesota Crookston	MN
Jacob Froelich	University of Minnesota Duluth	MN
Allison Wolf	University of Minnesota Morris	MN
Whitney Forseth	University of Minnesota Rochester	MN
Davis Rogers	University of Mississippi	MS
Cameron Roark	University of Missouri - St. Louis	MO
Juan Bettancourt-Garcia	University of Missouri-Kansas City	MO
Connor Schulte	University of Nebraska - Kearney	NE
Kevin Knudson	University of Nebraska - Lincoln	NE
Elias Benjelloun	University of Nevada, Las Vegas	NV
Richard Rotella	University of New Haven	CT
Tanner Franklin	University of North Dakota	ND
Alfred Eastin	University of Northern Colorado	CO
Matt Epting	University of Oklahoma	OK
Mike Nites	University of Pittsburgh	PA
Paige Maney	University of Puget Sound	WA
Antoinette Esce	University of Rochester	NY
Dominic Pera	University of San Diego	CA
Lindsay Richardson	University of South Carolina	SC
Raechel Blakeney	University of South Carolina Beaufort	SC
Tyler Tordsen	University of South Dakota	SD
Jean Cocco	University of South Florida	FL
Andrew Menard	University of Southern California	CA
Ryan Smith	University of St Thomas	MN
Jesse Bean	University of Texas at Tyler	TX
Kori Rady	University of Texas Austin	TX
Justin Spangler	University of Utah	UT
Jalen Ross	University of Virginia	VA
Steffani Hedstrom*	University of Washington Tacoma	WA
Tyler Sterr*	University of Wisconsin Green Bay	WI
Kaylee Otterbacher	University of Wisconsin La Crosse	WI
Ryan Sorenson	University of Wisconsin Milwaukee	WI
Christopher Slattery	University of Wisconsin Stevens Point	WI
Nicholas Wesell	University of Wisconsin Waukesha	WI
Genevieve Carter	University of Wisconsin, Madison	WI
James Whalen	Unviersity of North Carolina Asheville	NC
Doug Fiefia	Utah State University	UT
Tyler Brklacich	Utah Valley University	UT
Farah Hamati	Utica College	NY
Tanner Owen	Vanderbilt University	TN
Elizabeth Lazor	Virginia Tech	VA
Margaret Mulkerrin	Wake Forest University	NC
Lakecia Farmer	Washington State University	WA
Emma Tyler	Washington University in St. Louis	MO
Grant Tanenbaum	Wesleyan University	CT
Christopher Nyden	West Virginia University	WV
Annika Wolters	Western Washington University	WA
Riley Svikhart	Westmont College	CA
Tatiana Kaehler	Whitman College	WA
Matthew Conklin	Wichita State University	KS
Jessica Hepinstall	Winona State University	MN
Colleen Reynolds	Xavier University	OH
Michael Herbert	Yale University	CT
Colleen Burguiere	York College of Pennsylvania	PA
Michael Slavens	Youngstown State University	OH

*student body president’s designate

Issue Brief

Key Facts

Both men and women are survivors. 1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men are sexually assaulted in college.
Most sexual assaults (95%) go unreported for various reasonsSexual assaults are rarely committed by strangers in the bushes. In fact, 8 in 10 victims knew their attacker (friend, significant other, etc.)“False reports” of sexual assault are rare. It is estimated that less than 2% of all reported assaults are unfounded.

40% of survivors fear reprisal by their attacker;
Only 2% of incapacitated rape survivors report assault, partially because of the self-blame that may accompany sexual assault;
Often victims are assaulted by someone they know and trust (or even are financially dependent on), making the decision to report an especially difficult one.

NCLC issue brief

White House task force report

It’s On Us guidance packet