One in three college students date someone whom they hurt or who hurts them, said a sergeant from the public safety department to a presentation of a group of faculty and students.
“A simple, ‘Are you okay?’ speaks volumes,” said public safety officer Tressa Setlak, while giving her presentation, “Sexual Violence – it’s on us.”
One in four or five women experience an attempted sexual assault in their college career, according to The National College Women Sexual Victimization study. The reality of the matter is that many college students are bystanders to sexual violence without knowing what to do to stop it or how to step in.
A bystander is defined as an individual who is not part of the issue, but they can see it. A bystander might not know what to do in a sexual violence situation, but they are involved either physically or electronically.
Bystander intervention is a call to action. Setlak explained that the way to solve the problem of sexual assaults on college campuses is to change the way of thinking. In a college party scene, a man might say, “A girl that wasted deserves… whatever comes to her.” The way of changing his thought process is, “A girl that wasted deserves… to get home safe, so I found her friends and made sure that she got home safe.”
No one who is under the influence of alcohol deserves to be taken advantage of.
“Yes means yes and no means no,” Setlak said.
Setlak explained that students need to show pride in their community by standing up and taking action if something doesn’t seem right. It is important to check in with the victim then delegate someone to call public safety.
Setlak would like to make attendance at this presentation mandatory for students of all ages at Cabrini College.
It is vital for students to remember that if they need help, public safety is just a phone call away, at 610-902-8245.
Setlak said, “Pledge to stand up, speak out and step in.”
