ASBSU has created its first-ever Sexual Assault Prevention Committee dedicated to raising awareness, deterrence and education regarding sexual assault at the university.
ASBSU School of Public Service Senator Bella Antonucci and second-year kinesiology student Sydney Thompson view the committee as a “student voice” presence on campus involving student care and support for survivors. Antonucci and Thompson serve as co-chairs with 8 other members, a mix of ASBSU representatives and students.
“We started at the end of September, beginning of October…so we started meeting with the dean of students and the Gender Equity Center. We’re starting to have more resources to start learning more,” Anontucci said.
Thompson connected with Antonucci through ASBSU President Cheyon Sheen after she gave a speech on the topic during a communications class she shares with Sheen.
“I did similar work in high school,” Thompson said. “The club was called Students Against Sexual Assault, which was sort of a student’s perspective on providing resources to students, a little more accessible than a teacher, for example.”
Thompson explained how the club’s activities included collections, presentations and an educational video shared with his entire high school.
Now, her advocacy efforts live at the university alongside Antonucci and the rest of the committee. The two plan to start hosting events soon.
“We also want to make ourselves known since we are so new. We want to attract more people to our committee and have more people contact us – not only starting to mobilize resources, but also attracting people who are interested in helping us,” Thompson said.
The Sexual Violence Prevention Committee aims to host an event in April for Sexual Assault Awareness Month and become an accessible point of contact for students seeking help.
For future events, the committee wants to collaborate with campus resources and organizations to normalize conversations and familiarize the student body with the faces that work in campus offices that deal with sexual assault crimes.
“When we do these events, like larger events in the future, (the plan) is to have as many resources as possible visibly on site in order to create an actual physical space where people can actually meet them,” Antoinccui said. “So if they have to report a crime, it’s not the first time they’ve seen someone in the office, but like, ‘I’ve seen him before’…and they actually know who they’re going to talk. “.
Thompson spoke about the committee’s ultimate goal for the future and his hopes for it.
“So changing the culture where people can feel comfortable enough to report if something happens, or they could protect themselves and help the people in their lives who are survivors… that culture change – where people can feel more comfortable talking about it, I think that’s what I would like to offer,” Thompson said.
