Someone You Know is a student group dedicated to ending sexual violence on our campus. We try to accomplish this through advocacy and peer education. Despite recent national press and legislative action beginning to recognize the problem of sexual assault on college campuses, many people are uncomfortable or unwilling to discuss sexual assault or acknowledge its prevalence in our culture. The purpose of this blog is to bring about these discussions by providing background knowledge, demonstrating how each topic that we chose pertains to our campus, and hopefully clearing up some of the confusion that surrounds them.
So how might we fit these issues into articles that aren’t dynamic like one of our presentations would be? There would be no one to ask us questions, no way to tell if the room is understanding the point we are trying to get across, and realistically no way to condense all of the information and examples in each area into a single essay. It’s important to recognize that while we are well-educated on these matters, we are continuously learning more and reevaluating how we view different aspects of sexual assault. Therefore these articles won’t include every fact and detail, but rather are our current (and limited) perspectives on a broad and complex topic. The hope then is that these articles will not be the end of the conversation, but rather will serve as a starting point to foster discussion between people and will make people want to critically evaluate their thoughts about sexual violence and attempt to see its impact in both their own lives and the lives of others. Addressing questions is a much easier matter to settle.
You can reach out to any member of Someone You Know with questions and your opinions, or you could go through our Facebook page or email (someoneyouknow@gmail.com) if that would be more comfortable for you. There are also other wonderful resources on campus to turn to for more information and a compassionate ear such as the Haven and HOPE. The fight to end sexual violence on this campus has multiple fronts and unfortunately cannot be solved just by the work of a few dedicated people, it requires everyone to participate and acknowledge the problem. As a campus, we have the power to stand up and say that we will not tolerate violence here anymore. Our generation is in a unique place in history where we have the power to change the culture of silence and acceptance regarding sexual assaults. We all need to go forth, and make a difference.
