The Daily Gamecock

'It's On Us' aims to eliminate campus sexual assault

USC Student Government's "It's On Us" committee is gearing up to reach out and invite people to make a commitment — the commitment to change a campus culture that lays ground for sexual assault.

Through open, sincere dialogue and welcoming events and activities, the committee aims to take the national "It's On Us" campaign and give it a big name at USC. Their efforts are focused on shifting "how we view and treat sexual assault within [the] Gamecock community." 

Student Government President Michael Parks has worked closely with the committee to organize how the campaign is run on campus, including the upcoming "Week of Action." The co-directors of the committee are Mary Copeland "MC" Cain, fourth-year marketing and management student, and Lindsay Bratun, third-year public relations student.

Cain said that she'd been involved with Parks' presidential campaign in the spring, and Parks had noticed her passion for the "It's On Us" cause and invited her to his office so that he could team her up with Bratun. 

"Our game plan from the beginning has been to go big," Cain said.

To build on that idea Cain said that she and Bratun reached out to athletic programs, University President Harris Pastides and local sexual assault awareness and prevention organizations. 

Several of the students to whom the committee reached out have voiced their reasons for standing behind the campaign for "It's On Us" social media.

"There should be ZERO tolerance for sexual assault not just at USC, but all across the country. While it may only take minutes to occur, the effects can last a lifetime," South Carolina quarterback Perry Orth said. 

Another student to speak out was Emily Fuldner, president of USC's Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority chapter.

"We must stand up TOGETHER against sexual assault," Fuldner said. "It's on us to create a safe and supportive campus culture that stands up AGAINST victim-blaming." 

Bratun said that USC's "It's On Us" mission is to "change the culture at our university and to decrease the stigma about rape myth, which is something that is a socially held standard about what sexual assault means, and end sexual assault ... It's a commitment to change students' minds and end sexual assault on college campuses." 

"It's On Us," on a national scale, was launched in 2014 by President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. According to the campaign's two-year report, there are at least 360,000 pledge signatures and 64,000 social media followers. 

At the 2016 Academy Awards ceremony, Biden gave a speech highlighting the cause, and it was followed up with 40,000 pledge signatures and 338 million impressions on the #ItsOnUs hashtag. 

One in five women are sexually assaulted in college, most of those occurrences being during their first or second year, according to the same report. In 75-80 percent of those cases, the victim knows the attacker in some way, and 91 percent of rapes are committed by serial offenders. 

Bratun added that along with one in five women, one in 16 men are also sexually assaulted in his lifetime. 

"It's on us — all of us — to create a culture where violence isn't tolerated; where survivors are supported; and where all our young people, men and women, can go as far as their talents and their dreams will take them," President Obama said in a 2015 PSA encouraging viewers to take the pledge. 

As shown on itsonus.org, the pledge reads:

"I pledge to RECOGNIZE that non-consensual sex is sexual assault. To IDENTIFY situations in which sexual assault may occur. To INTERVENE in situations where consent has not or cannot be given. To CREATE an environment in which sexual assault is unacceptable and survivors are supported." 

USC's "It's On Us" branch encourages people to take a fittingly modified pledge, which reads:

"As a Gamecock, I will RECOGNIZE and IDENTIFY when sexual assault is present. I will EDUCATE our peers about the risks and presence of sexual assault at USC. I will SUPPORT affected Gamecocks in this mission to change the culture at our university." 

Bratun said that she and Cain both came to USC from smaller, all-female schools in their respective hometowns. What was one of the most staggering aspects of student life at a university, she says, was a "hook-up culture" that permeated a great deal of her conversations. 

"I feel like promoting 'It's On Us' has given me power to change the conversations that I'm a part of and move them towards a more mature and values-based conversation, and not one that glorifies a hookup culture," Bratun said, "and not one that perpetuates just these awful standards of boys and girls ... Let's forget that, and let's be ourselves and talk about something meaningful." 

Cain says that the topic of sexual assault on college campuses is one that "people always keep at arms length."  She also says that her delivery of her own story and sentiments are very blunt, and that she enjoys seeing it resonate with her audiences. 

"It might not be your fault, but unfortunately statistics show that it is our problem" Cain said. "Students need to know that there are risks and that an action or inaction can change." 

The co-directors view bystander accountability as an important factor in acting on the "It's On Us" message, but it is just one of several. Survivor support, for example, is greatly emphasized as well.

Cain said that when she, Bratun and Parks went and spoke to the marching band last week, they had a conversation about the awkwardness of certain situations that can lead to victims refusing to come forward. A student asked Cain what to do or say if someone comes to them with a story of sexual assault.

"The three biggest words you can say ... 'I believe you,'" Cain said. 

Following up on how far survivor support can go, Bratun cited that Vice President Biden wrote a letter to the sexual assault victim of former Stanford student Brock Turner.

"It wasn't [for] the judge to be impeached ... it was a letter to the survivor, supporting survivors," Bratun said, "and I think that is where the strength lies in this campaign." 

Acting on their standards of peer-based conversation and "a campaign that people can rally behind," Student Government will host the campaign's "Week of Action" beginning Monday and going through to Friday, Oct. 29.

To "kick" off the week, there will be a kickball tournament on Greene Street fields Monday evening. Students can register their own teams and join Parks, Cain and Bratun for the tournament at 5 p.m. for the first bracket and 6:30 p.m. for the second bracket.

On Tuesday, Oct. 25, Individuals Respecting Identities & Sexualities (IRIS) will host a movie screening and panel discussion in the Russell House Theater at 8 p.m.

Things will wind down on Wednesday, Oct. 26 and shift to a theme of reflection with a candlelight vigil in honor and support of sexual assault survivors. The vigil will be at Rutledge Chapel at 6:30 p.m.

"When people walk into that chapel, we're not raising awareness. We're not teaching people how to protect themselves," Cain said. "We're just honoring the people that have had to go through this horrific crime and showing support for future survivors." 

Thursday, Oct. 27 is reserved for a "Be More Than a Bystander" self-defense class taught by members of Surviving Assault and Standing Strong (SASS). The two sessions, one at 3 p.m. and one at 5 p.m., will be held in the Russell House Ballroom.

Students can follow USC's "It's On Us" branch on social media platforms and see a video that will be released as part of the campaign on Friday, Oct. 28.

"Something that is different about our 'Week of Action' is that it's not just like a passive movie screening or some sort of ... mundane cause," Bratun said. "It is a catering to many different sides of campus [with] a variety of different events and activities, and truly focused around taking the pledge, and being aware, and being with your friends, and just knowing that you're not alone if you try this." 

Bratun also says that it is asking a lot for certain people to take the pledge and change how they live their lives accordingly, but it is "an attainable goal." 

"We're ready to have some fun and get some students involved, and make sure everyone's on the same page as we are," Bratun said. 

While the pledge has been available under Student Government since its inception, the Week of Action events are new. 

Cain and Bratun say that the campaign has been resonating fairly well with male students, and that Parks, as a male figure, has helped pave the way for that. 

"[Parks] has passion for this cause, and he has desire to motivate us and empower our voices and empower our message," Bratun said. 

Cain said she noticed how, as a result of coming forward from the standpoint of a friend or peer, male audience members respond with great understanding. 

"It's important to put in perspective what the values are, and I feel like we are the people who are committed to change our community and gear us toward a cause that we can rally around," Bratun said. "The boys are just as susceptible to that as any girl would be." 

In teaming up with Parks and building a committee to help spread the message, Cain and Bratun are pushing something bigger than themselves. 

"Go big," Cain said. 

The objective, rather than to have one discussion or make one video, is to place the ideas of victim support, bystander accountability and speaking out against assault into the campus culture gaps that their opposites have left.

"I feel like our message might get a little diluted sometimes, or it could be just another Facebook post in the moment," Bratun said, "but at the end of the day, I know that students care and I know that [USC] students are virtuous beings that are on board with us and are excited just as we are." 


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