Mississippi State received 32 reports of sexual assault in 2015, a number the school’s Student Association is working to reduce this week.
During the week-long campaign, the SA is hosting three initiatives to educate and engage students on issues of sexual violence as part of the national It’s On Us campaign.
In addition to collecting pledges throughout the week on the Drill Field, the SA partnered with MSU staff involved in sexual assault response Tuesday evening. Brett Harvey, director of Title IX and Equal Employment Opportunity Programs, Yvett Roby, Counseling Services advocate coordinator, and Tabor Mullen, assistant dean of students, answered questions posed by the student body regarding the nature of on-campus assault as part of the SA live-tweeting series, Campaign for Change. The SA will also field questions during a discussion session following a screening of “The Hunting Ground,” a documentary featuring the stories of assault survivors, Thursday.
“The point is to individualize [engagement] this whole week and show that individual Mississippi State students take the time to get a little education on sexual assault,” said Mark Lewis, SA director of special initiatives.
Harvey said Mississippi State received 32 reports of sexual assault in 2015, which the school hopes to reduce through a proactive approach that includes training student groups and requiring sexual violence education for new students and faculty through Haven, an online interactive education program.
“A lot of it is ignorance about what sexual assault and consent are. Unfortunately in this part of the country, Mississippi especially, you very rarely see students who come to a school like Mississippi State having previously had any education on what consent really means,” Harvey said. “They don’t understand that rape is not just when someone attacks you with a weapon in the dark alley, it’s also sex without consent.”
He said in addition to training, the university policy is designed to address instances of violence appropriately on an individual basis as they occur. Since sexual violence can be difficult to cope with, Harvey said, the university works to provide students with any necessary support services, from counseling and medical services to relocation in on campus housing.
“Someone who experiences sexual misconduct, or sexual assault in particular, we’re well aware that if you don’t intervene and if you don’t offer help, it can unfortunately derail a person academically,” Harvey said. “It can certainly have emotional effects, and it can have an effect even beyond college.”
Lewis said by reaching as many MSU community members as possible, the SA hopes that by teaching students to behave appropriately, the It’s On Us event can stop incidents of violence before they happen.
“A lot of students are thrown into an environment of 20,000 students and don’t necessarily know how to handle that,” Lewis said. “I think educational programs and things like this inform them on how to deal with that type of thing and engage in sexual activity safely.”
Responses to question posed during the Campaign for Change live-tweeting event are available on the SA Twitter feed at @msu_sa.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.