A year after Syracuse University became a partner with the It’s On Us campaign, the university is still working to increase awareness of the campaign on campus.

It’s On Us, a national movement developed by the White House to change the way students think about sexual assault on college campuses, encourages students to pledge not to be a bystander to sexual assault, but to be part of the solution. The Office of Health Promotions at SU began spreading the message last fall.

Since the national campaign started, more than 220,000 people have taken the pledge to end sexual assault on college campuses, according to a White House release. More than 300 schools have It’s On Us campaigns, according to a White House fact sheet.

Over the past year, the Office of Health Promotions has implemented various strategies to get students involved in the It’s On Us discussions.

“Last year was mostly focused on getting a foundation started with the campaign,” said Katelyn Cowen, the director of the Office of Health Promotions. “Because It’s On Us was so fresh and new, we ended up focusing a lot on consent.”

Part of that foundation involved Cowen and the Office of Health Promotions creating an It’s On Us logo with SU’s colors. Cowen said the logo was an easy way to spread the message over social media and on the school’s websites.

The NCAA became a partner with the national campaign, which led to a partnership with the SU Athletics department.

The result was a video from the national It’s On Us campaign playing in the Carrier Dome last spring.

“Athletics have been very supportive of the campaign,” Cowen said. “We’ve had conversations around doing something with the football season and we hope to spread that to all student groups.”

Cowen added that the Office of Health Promotions discussed reaching out to the football team and other student organizations to have them create their own It’s On Us video.

SU’s one-year anniversary with the campaign came just as findings revealed that nearly 25 percent of undergraduate women at some universities experienced sexual assault, according to a survey by the Association of American Universities.

Moreover, the AAU survey revealed that many students doubt whether administrators would step in. Only 39 percent of students believe it is very likely that campus officials would address factors that may have led to sexual assault encounters on campus, according to the survey.

Now, in order to improve the efficacy of the It’s On Us campaign at SU, Cowen said it is important to get the students involved in conversations about sexual assault prevention.

“It’s not just on administrators and faculty, but it’s also really about engaging students and getting them to address these issues together,” she said.

Cowen recognized the lack of It’s On Us promotions over the summer, but said she hopes to continue implementing new events and partnerships to promote sexual assault awareness on campus.

Brion Neary, a brother of Alpha Chi Ro, said SU still needs to improve its promotion of It’s On Us around campus.

“It would be great to address It’s On Us at freshman orientation to inform new students and have them take the pledge,” Neary said. “The idea of helping prevent sexual assault would hopefully get into them from the beginning.”

Although Neary said SU can improve its promotion of the It’s On Us campaign, he said the campaign has helped to change students’ mentality about sexual assault.

Rachel Martin began raising awareness about sexual and relationship violence as a peer educator in the Office of Health Promotions two years ago.

Martin, now a senior psychology major, said her role requires her to be ready to engage with fellow students about serious issues regarding sexual assault.

“It is vital to get the word out that we, as a campus, as a community and as a nation, do not stand for this,” Martin said. “Those conversations help people learn more about sexual assault and continue to help us build our safe, supportive, healthy environment.”

Published on September 27, 2015 at 8:44 pm

Contact Alexi: ajmccamm@syr.edu