Colleges in Ohio campaign to stop sexual assault
How do you CLEVELAND — teach a college kid that affirmative consent is the rule?
For colleges, some of which teach online classes on the concepts of consent and sexual assault prevention, spreading the message could include an email signature or a poster on a dorm bulletin board.
What these posters say is crucial — they must catch the attention of students while conveying a serious tone about sexual assault.
State recommendations assert that there should be awareness and communication campaigns to “communicate a culture of shared respect and responsibility.” The American Association of University Professors recommends these messages be widespread, from press releases to social media content to posters.
Cleveland.com spoke to six Ohio colleges and universities for the “Consenting on Campus” series.
Take a look at some of the things that colleges and institutions are saying about sexual assault through these campaigns.
‘Here’s where to look’
Baldwin Wallace University recently distributed magnets and posters listing resources for students experiencing discrimination, harassment or violence. The magnets are stuck to spots like restroom doors, and you can find the posters in nearly every building on campus.
The magnet includes phone numbers, including the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center’s hotline. A QR code allows students with a smart phone to directly go to the university page to report misconduct.
The poster contains a flow chart for getting access to different resources.
The flow also details the different investigation protocols and resolution processes students can choose to go through.
‘Let’s talk about it’
Oberlin College uses the slogan “Let’s make consent a conversation” in its campaign. Because Oberlin is a smaller, residential private campus, officials have the opportunity to make education on sexual assault more focused on peer-led student discussion.
Rebecca Mosely is Oberlin’s Title IX coordinator and director of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. She said the conversation begins before students even get on campus, with Oberlin sending home information about sexual assault resources. That practice began last year.
The college has one peerled education session each semester of the first year, one about consent and the other about bystander intervention.
“I think it’s really important at a place like Oberlin where we’re a small, residential campus and everyone’s living with one another, spending four years in very close proximity, to not just engage in online education but offer to engage in a conversation,” she said.
“We recognize that communication and conversation around this on a campus like ours is vital to making sure that prevention is effective.”
‘You can take action’
Buckeyes ACT is Ohio State University’s approach to fighting sexual violence and misconduct. ACT stands for action, counseling and training.
The university is launching new training for everyone, from students to staff, to try to prevent sexual violence and boost the amount of resources available to survivors on campus.
Training students and professors to recognize sexual assault means the school knows when to take action.
Bystander intervention, which means stepping in when witnessing problems, is a key part of sexual assault education on college campuses.