The White House is tapping into a new resource in its campaign to prevent campus sexual assault: men.

The “It’s On Us” campaign, announced on Friday, calls on men to combat sexual assault on college campuses. The campaign is partnered with more than 30 companies and organizations, and nearly 200 colleges and universities pledged to bring the “It’s On Us” campaign to their school.

While the campaign has received a lot of media attention and features many celebrities, some student leaders at Syracuse University say the campaign fails to address the root causes of sexual assault. Still, most students agree the campaign is a good first step toward addressing the problem.

“(It’s On Us) does a really good job at engaging men in a way that’s not confrontational, that’s more trying to invite them into the conversation,” said Paul Ang, a graduate student and member of A Men’s Issue, an organization at SU dedicated to ending sexual assault and relationship violence.

The “It’s On Us” campaign includes various promotions intended to boost awareness for sexual assault on college campuses. T-shirts with the campaign’s logo, a public service announcement and the option to take the “It’s On Us” pledge can be found on the campaign’s website.

The campaign’s PSA has 10 celebrities including Jon Hamm, Common and Kerry Washington in addition to President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. A diverse collection of celebrities appears in the 30-second spot.

“I think people are more likely to listen if their favorite celebrity is in the video,” said Farrell Brenner, a sophomore and member of the Campaign for an Advocacy Center at SU. “I was really impressed that there was a very diverse group of celebrities.”

In hopes of turning men into empowered bystanders, the “It’s On Us” website offers tips to men to stop a sexual assault from happening. The tips are useful for one-time incidents or if a student anticipates a sexual assault happening.

But some see that as a flaw in the campaign. “It’s On Us” focuses on individual incidents, but does little about the root causes of sexual assault said Derek Ford, a graduate student and organizer for the Campaign for an Advocacy Center.

“I’m very critical of (It’s On Us) also because it depoliticizes sexual assault and it concentrates on individual actions of avoiding sexual violence and not about the systemic causes of sexual violence,” Ford said.

Ang said he believes the campaign ignores bigger issues of masculinity and male dominance that are at the root of sexual assault.

“The idea that failure isn’t an option, that ‘no’ means just try harder, those are some of the issues that come up for me when I’m thinking what is really the cause of issues of sexual assault,” Ang said.

Among other issues, Brenner worries that the message will get lost among those who are not already involved in the conversation about sexual assault. She believes the message must reach greek life and athletics to make a difference at SU.

But there is no guarantee the message will fully reach the SU campus. SU is not listed as one of the nearly 200 institutions that will bring the “It’s On Us” campaign to campus.

Brittany Moore, a senior television, radio and film and information management major who is a member of the Chancellor’s Workgroup for Sexual Violence Prevention, Education and Advocacy, said she thinks joining the campaign would not work for SU.

“We want to make sure that we do something that is relevant to our student population not just a general one-size-fits-all type of campaign, I don’t think that would work for our population,” Moore said.

But she said she believes the campaign is a good first step in engaging men in the conversation about sexual assault.

Ang added that he thinks most men engage in the conversation when a woman they know is sexually assaulted, but he believes the way men are brought to the conversation needs to change.

Said Ang: “How many people that we care about have to get hurt before we get men to invest in the conversation?”

Published on September 25, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Chris: cjlibona@syr.edu | @ChrisLibonati