ASUI Senate made a strong statement about the culture surrounding sexual assault and misconduct and subsequent reporting on this campus. While the Senate made its voice heard, we still believe in the tangible, on-the-ground work that needs to be done. We affirm that it is on all of us to help solve this problem.
This past week, we have had many conversations about what our role is in the problem-solving process, and we wanted to give you a run down about what you can expect from ASUI in the coming weeks.
1) Enhanced Reporting
a. We are working with the Dean of Students office to figure out the best type of online reporting system to be used in situations of sexual assault and misconduct. We currently have Vandal CARES, but some senators have been researching other methods to find the most effective one. This tool will become more easily accessible than it has been in the past.
2) It’s On Us Campaign
a. In the middle of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, our Director of Health and Wellness, along with some senators, are working on this campaign and other SAAM programs. With this, the aim is to continue the conversation that was made louder with the resolution and turn those conversations into action items.
3) Greek Life Task Force
a. A working group of Greek senators has been created to develop an action plan, in coordination with the Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, to pinpoint specific areas for improvement. This action plan will be passed along to the Greek Life team before the end of the semester.
4) Survey Development
a. One of the main calls to action in the resolution was to create a survey of female athletes from the past 10 years to better understand the issues related to sexual assault and misconduct in the athletic department. This is a focus of the Dean of Students task force as well, so we are working with them to write questions, determine survey techniques, etc., so we can have the most accurate survey results as possible.
5) Improving Training Advertisements
a. Many UI departments already do a lot of great programming related to mental health, violence prevention, healthy masculinity, and a variety of topics related to sexual assault, and these programs often rely on ASUI Senators to advertise event times, locations, etc. We will be doing an internal review of how we relay that information, ensuring that we are properly conveying to students the importance of said training.
By Catherine Yenne, ASUI vice president