The News Record 9.18.14

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THE NEWS RECORD NEWSRECORD.ORG

UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2014

Cincinnati expands transportation options with bike share Red Bike promotes new, healthier means of commuting around city

in the city,” said Jake Holden, a fifthyear aerospace engineering student and co-director of sustainability for student government. Barron compared Red Bike to public transportation or walking as opposed to personal biking. “It’s how you get from point A to point B,” he said. “The Cincy bike share would be something similar to supplementing bus routes,” Holden said. Red Bikes are available as $8 day passes or $80 annual memberships, both of which can be purchased online or at the B-stations where the bikes, or B-cycles, are found. Both passes have 60-minute rental limits because they are meant to be used as a transportation method from one point to another. Each additional 30 minutes is $4. The three-speed bikes are fitted with a basket and flashing lights on the front and back. They are capable of tracking your distance cycled and calories burned, which can be checked on the website or the B-cycle app. You can also check how

COURTNEY STANLEY | ONLINE EDITOR

Cincinnati’s first citywide bike sharing program, Red Bike, officially opened Monday, providing 260 bikes at 30 different locations around University of Cincinnati’s campus and throughout Over-the-Rhine and downtown. According to Jason Barron, the executive director of Red Bike, as of 5 p.m. Wednesday, 384 bikes had been checked out since the racks, or B-stations, opened Monday morning. “It’s a no hassle bike share,” Barron said. Red Bike eliminates the stresses that might cause some to choose not to ride their bike around the city: finding a safe location to lock the bike up, worrying about it being stolen, carrying it into work or storing it at home. “It takes the work and investment out of having a bike and being able to ride

BAILEY DOWLIN | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER The bikes have popped up all over Cincinnati, just as the freshly placed bike lane on Central Parkway has dried.

many bikes are at a given station through the app. Red Bike differs from UC students’ other option for bike rental: Bearcat Bike Share. According to Holden, students can check out bikes from the Bearcat Bike

Share at the recreation center for free with their Bearcat Card. Each bike comes with a bike lock and can be renewed. “You essentially rent and get the bike for three days, whereas with the Cincy SEE BIKES PG 3

ADVOCATES AID SURVIVORS RECLAIM peer leaders aim to create safe environment for sexual assault survivors KATIE COBURN | NEWS EDITOR

One in four women are sexually assaulted during their time in college, according to Know Your IX, showing that sexual assault is prevalent on college campuses — including the University of Cincinnati — and its presence demands attention, acknowledgment and action. Founded in 2013, Know Your IX is a national survivor-run, student-driven campaign that aims to end campus sexual violence and educate college students in the U.S. about their rights under Title IX — a federal civil right that prohibits sex discrimination in education As defined by the Ohio Revised Code 2907.01-2907.09, sexual assault is sexual conduct, contact or any other activity of sexual nature without the consent of the other person or when knowing the other person is unable to consent because of age or impaired mental or physical condition. Sexual assault can include rape, attempted rape, sexual harassment, public indecency, voyeurism and stalking. Maria Kothman, a fourth-year social work student who serves as a RECLAIM Peer Advocate at UC’s Women’s Center, said sexual assault affects everyone. According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, one of every six American women fall victim to an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime and one in 33 American men have experienced an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. RAINN is the nation’s largest antisexual assault organization. Every two minutes, another American is sexually assaulted, according to information from RAINN’s website. “One in four college women is too many. One more person is too many,” Kothman said.“This is a problem and a crime affecting our community. It’s happening right now.” Housed in the Women’s Center and comprised of trained peer advocates, RECLAIM is a program designed to provide direct support to sexual assault and genderbased violence survivors. Peer advocates engage in campus-based activism by raising awareness and hosting educational programming on sexual assault and consent. “I believe in advocacy, in the power of our voices, and I believe in survivors,” Kothman said.“I want to make UC a safer place, and I want to contribute to the cultural shift that will make that happen.” Peer advocates work to promote a culture of consent on campus and in the community, Kothman said. “Any time we define sexual assault or rape, we should also be defining consent,”

HANNAH SELLERS | LEAD DESIGNER

Source: World Health Organization. 2002

Kothman said.“Consent is a sober, verbal, and ongoing ‘yes’ to sex, and it cannot be given when there is any element of force, threat of force, or coercion.” Amy Howton, interim director of UC’s Women’s Center, said after a person is sexually assaulted the focus is typically on the survivor’s behavior rather than the perpetrator. “Our culture creates a lot of victim blaming,” Howton said.“So, I think for a lot of survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, there’s a lot of that blaming that happens and shame that is accompanied by that kind of victimization, mostly because those forms of victimization are perpetrated

HANNAH SELLERS | LEAD DESIGNER

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Statistics. 1997 Sex Offenses and Offenders Study.

by people that we know and trust, so there’s some self-doubt that can accompany those forms of violence and shame because you feel that it’s your fault.” According to RAINN, approximately twothirds of sexual assaults are committed by someone known to the victim. Furthermore, 38 percent of rapists are a friend or acquaintance of the victim, and 28 percent of rapists are an intimate friend. Sexual assault can cause lingering effects on survivors’ mental health, including: post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, flashbacks and difficulty focusing and trusting others, according to Kothman. The UC Health Center, located in the Stetson Building near the UC medical campus on Martin Luther King Drive and Highland Avenue, treats patients with PTSD. The center offers free evaluations to new patients to help determine if they have PTSD. ¬To learn more about the center or to schedule an assessment, call 513-558-5872. “It’s important to seek help because it’s the first step in recognizing that it was not your fault and that you’re not alone,” Howton said.“Help can come in many ways and that looks different for each person. I think it’s important to understand that there’s so many different ways of working through that to a place of healing. There’s no one right way.” Kothman said it is important to understand that not only does everyone survive trauma and crisis differently, but also that trauma is not limited to the time directly following an assault. “Survivors can carry that trauma with them, and any number of things can cause a survivor to enter crisis again,” Kothman said. “It’s possible to be in crisis months or years after an assault, and those feelings are still valid. For this very reason, RECLAIM is here for survivors at any point in their journey.” Recently, The News Record named a sexual assault survivor involved in an armed robbery turned home invasion that occurred on Sept. 5. The newspaper obtained the

THE NEWS RECORD IS THECHIEF.NEWSRECORD@GMAIL.COM UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI’S INDEPENDENT, STUDENT-RUN NEWSPAPER / 513.556.5900

survivor’s permission to use her name, and to tell of her assault — which was described in graphic detail. Some readers expressed concern for naming the survivor and for the graphic details that were included. Kothman said a trigger warning — a note for readers warning of graphic content — is important for such stories. “For survivors of sexual assault, reading a piece where there might be a graphic description of an assault, a trigger warning can mean that they are in control of the content they read and can make an informed decision about whether, in that moment, they’re in a place emotionally where they’re able to cope with the content,” Kothman said. The News Record added an editor’s note to the online story and plans to include a trigger warning for graphic content in future stories. Counseling & Psychological Services is another campus resource that provides support and coping methods to sexual assault survivors. Located at 225 Calhoun St., Suite 200, CAPS is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the 24hour phone consultation is 513-556-0648. An off-campus resource for sexual assault survivors is Women Helping Women, which provides crisis intervention and support for men and women who are survivors of sexual assault. This agency is located at 215 East Ninth St., 7th floor and can be reached at 513-381-5610. “It’s important to empower survivors with resources,” Kothman said.“Their next steps are theirs to make, and whatever decision they make is the right one for them. If you’re supporting someone surviving sexual or gender-based violence, you may want to let them know that it is not their fault and that help is available.” Out of the approximate 237,868 victims of sexual assault each year, only 60 percent of sexual assaults are reported to the police, SEE ASSAULT PG 3

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