In its fight to end campus sexual assault, It's On Us might face its biggest challenge in making USC students comfortable enough to open up about their own experiences.
Despite this, the young initiative is showing its will to do so as it oversees the 2017 Fall Week of Action led by co-directors Sara Wallam and Emily Martin.
The work It's On Us does is a particular passion of Martin, a second-year criminal justice and journalism student, who is also a survivor of sexual assault. She joined It's On Us out of a desire to "make a difference."
"Before, there was not a talk about it, it was a subject that everyone shyed [sic] away from, unfortunately," Martin said of her initiative's impact at USC. "But now, we are getting the word out and starting this conversation. We are working on changing the attitudes, the culture, but that takes time."
But even student health administrators are confident in It's On Us' ability to change. Director of strategic health initiatives Rebecca Caldwell said the initiative's student-run status makes it especially capable.
"When you see a student-run initiative added to the institutional initiative, I just think it gives more credibility and I think just opens the door even wider for students to seek services and to have a sense that, 'okay, my peers also don't think this is okay,'" Caldwell said.
Shannon Nix works as associate director of Sexual Assault and Violence Intervention & Prevention office. Agreeing with Caldwell, Nix said the work of It's On Us has allowed conversations to take place that might not have otherwise.
"I think if students realize other students are on the bandwagon and raising awareness for this, it's not just the office that does this work and this professional staff, but it's other students, that they are more comfortable sharing," Nix said.
The conversation heated up on Sept. 22, when Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced an end to guidelines issued under the Obama administration for investigation of sexual assault on college campuses.
In a letter explaining the move, Candice Jackson, acting assistant secretary for civil rights for the Department of Education, said the policies called for only "a minimal standard of proof" in determining the guilt of accused rapists.
Wallam, a third-year biochemistry and molecular biology student, said that while she is personally against DeVos' changes, she does not intend to make the It's On Us initiative "political." She also said that any formal stance It's On Us might take would not necessarily be that of the university or Student Government.
Asked how It's On Us could gauge its success in holding the Week of Action, Wallam said education and openness are crucial goals.
"This is my first time running this initiative, and it is also the first time for [Martin], so we are hoping to learn from this week in order to do better in the future," Wallam said. "We also want students and survivors to feel safe, so if even one person feels like they can speak about their experiences and get the resources that they need, that means the week was a success."
Martin echoed Wallam's sentiment, but added that effort, not success, is the goal of the Week of Action.
"We are working towards a common goal of awareness and if just one single person learns more about sexual assault, then I would be proud to say that I helped plan USC's Week of Action 2017," Martin said.
The Fall 2017 Week of Action continues Wednesday with a self-defense class hosted by the USC Panhellenic Organization and Columbia women's self-defense organization Surviving Assault and Standing Strong. The class begins at 3 p.m. in Room 116 of Strom Thurmond Fitness Center.