Rallying cry

By: Megan Marron, staff writer

The amount of attention paid to sexual assault awareness and prevention has grown over the past few years, especially on college campuses.

Lebanon Valley College is furthering this awareness and conversation by having a table in support of the “It’s On Us” national campaign against sexual assault. The table was hosted by a different Greek Life organization each evening in the Mund College Center during the week of Nov. 7.

At the table, students could sign the “It’s On Us” digital pledge and write their names on a banner of support.

The “It’s On Us” campaign began in 2014 and has become extremely popular in the past two years. Since its inception, there have been more than 275,000 individuals who have taken the pledge.

The organization’s website states that, by signing, participants are pledging to:

Recognize that non consensual sex is rape.

Identify situations in which sexual assaults may occur.

Intervene in situations where consent has not or cannot be given.

Create an environment in which sexual assault is unacceptable and survivors are supported. (www.itsonus.org)

The campaign has received support from more than 90 official partners. These supporters range from athletic conferences to social media companies and include some college favorites like Snapchat and Pandora Radio.

The LVC students who worked the table were excited about the cause.

“Spreading awareness about sexual assault on campus creates a wider population that’s aware of the issue and can stop an escalating situation when they see it,” Haley Groesbeck, a sophomore education major, said.

The topic of sexual assault can be difficult to talk about especially in large groups.

“It [sexual assault prevention and awareness] matters to me because it’s a huge problem for college students,” Erika Fisher, a senior English major, said. “You’re nearly guaranteed to know a victim of sexual assault at some point in your college career, and starting a dialogue is how we combat that problem.”

Victims of sexual assault can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 for emotional assistance and help.