April 19, 2021 Staff Farewell | News | Collegiate Health | Sports | Media | Feature | New Staff | Graduation 6
T A K E B A C K E D U C ATI N G TH E C A M P U that students who are not comfortable with reporting sexual assault or seeking counseling on campus should feel encouraged to reach out to First Step for its free and confidential services provided for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. “The more they do events like this, it makes me so proud. The more times that we get out and talk about it, and write articles, the more opportunity we have to say ‘You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s not your fault, and there are people here you can talk to,’” Turnbow said. “When we think about how much better we are today than we were 100 years ago, or 50 years ago, I just say it’s because we do things like this. We keep evolving. We keep talking about it and pushing things to get better.”
REPORTING SEXUAL ASSAULT
According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, Only 230 out of every 1,000 sexual assaults are reported to police. Survivors often suffer in silence because they feel as though
what transpired was their fault or are not sure if the assault happened. “No matter what you were doing, you didn’t deserve that... It is something that will change who you are if you do not go get help. You need to talk with someone so that you know you’re not alone. Something was taken from you when you were sexually assaulted, and until you work through that, they’ll still have that hold,” Turnbow said. Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner or SANE examinations completed in a hospital following an assault give victims the opportunity to report the incident to the police, but they are under no obligation to do so. Hetrick said students do not have to provide proof of a SANE exam to receive support from Title IX. Possible accommodations Title IX gives for sexual assault victims include a change in university housing rooms, exam or assignment extensions, temporary withdrawal and substitute course completion options. “Unlike other crimes, people tend to blame
PHOTO BY BAILEY GRAHAM | THE WICHITAN
Campus volunteers work the check-in table at Take Back the Night, April 9. ELIZABETH MAHAN REPORTER n the university setting, 26.4% of female and 6.8% of male undergraduate students are raped or sexually assaulted, according to Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. To highlight sexual assault awareness month, the office of Title IX, Residence Life and Housing, Violence Intervention and Prevention Peer Educators and the Sociology Club banded together to create a Take Back The Night event, which allowed students to interact with local resources available for survivors of sexual assault. “When people think of sexual assault they just think of being raped. Sexual assault encompasses a lot more than that. We need to make sure that we’re talking about groping, harassing language, not getting consent or only getting consent for one thing and not getting consent for everything. We want to make it a topic that, even though it’s uncomfortable, that people are okay talking about, and then if it does happen are okay reporting,” Laura Hetrick, director and coordinator of Title IX, said.
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MEANING BEHIND TAKE BACK THE NIGHT
Take Back The Night is a worldwide movement with the mission of standing against sexual violence. Take Back The Night events and marches began in the 1960s, and the name originated from the anxiety women felt and often still feel when walking down the street alone at night. “Take Back The Night to me personally is taking back that power that was taken from you. Usually, with sexually assaulted individuals, they feel like you’ve taken so much from them that was out of their control. Taking back the night is regaining that power, understanding that you’re not alone. There’s a whole community behind you backing you,” Courtney Didier, MOSAIC Cross Culture Center peer educator and management senior, said. People between the ages of 13 and 33 are most at risk for sexual assault. As many college students are in that age range, Michelle Turnbow, executive director of First Step, emphasized
PHOTO BY BAILEY GRAHAM | THE WICHITAN
MSU’s jazz band provides music for the night during the Take Back the Night event in the Legacy Courtyard, April 9.
