laurels and darts We laurel Rutgers Salsa Club for fundraising for Puerto Rico
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THE FRONT BOTTOMS Brian Sella gives an inside scoop on the new album “Going Grey”
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SPORTS Rutgers comes out of bye week into Illinois game away from home
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WEATHER Cloudy High: 65 Low: 59
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FridAY, OCTOBER 13, 2017
Joe Biden, the 47th vice president of the United States, spoke to University students about preventing sexual assault as part of the “It’s On Us” rally, sponsored by the Office of Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance (VPVA). Biden’s appearance was proceeded by a series of speeches from survivors and advocates. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR
Joe Biden calls Rutgers to action at ‘It’s On Us’ rally 47th U.S. vice president drew 2,000 students to College Avenue Alexandra Dematos editor-in-chief
The gymnasium was colored red Tuesday afternoon as members of the University community gathered to welcome former Vice President Joe Biden to campus for the “It’s On Us” rally. Biden abruptly shocked students across campus two weeks ago when he announced that he would be visiting Rutgers to speak out against sexual violence and assault. More than 2,000 students stood in a line wrapped around the College Avenue Student Center and were allowed inside the gymnasium for the rally. The growing “It’s On Us” movement was launched in 2014 following the recommendations of the White House Task Force to Prevent Sexual Assault. Biden started the campaign with former President Barack Obama. “I care a lot about this. People wonder if my passion is a consequence of my mother being abused, or my sister or daughter ... it’s not,” he said. “It’s because of my father. My dad was a gentle, honorable man ... He said the greatest sin of all was the abuse of power. And then he’d say the cardinal sin
was for a man to raise his hand to a woman or child. Sexual assault is not about sex. It’s about power.” Biden took the time to express his disgust with the recent allegations of sexual assault against mega-producer Har vey Weinstein, though he did not comment on the University’s decision to keep the $100,000 donation to the school from the Weinstein Family Foundation. He said Weinstein deserves more than losing his company. “(He is) a man who had the power to make or break the career of a number of very talented actors,” he said. “But because of the bravery of so many courageous women speaking up, putting their careers still at risk to save other women, this disgusting behavior, at least on the part of Harvey Weinstein, has been brought to an abrupt and justifiable end.” But Biden has been a known fighter of sexual violence for decades, and his work did not just start with the “It’s On Us” campaign. He said it was because of men like Weinstein that he first introduced the Violence See vice
presidenton Page 4
Several survivors stepped up to tell their stories, push for action Kira Herzog News editor
In the final hour before former Vice President Joe Biden’s highly anticipated appearance at Rutgers, a series of sexual assault survivors stepped up to the podium to share their stories. The speakers were comprised of both current and former Rutgers students, many of whom had sought help in one capacity or another from the University’s Office of Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance (VPVA). One survivor, whose last name has been omitted, began by recounting her first day on campus at Rutgers. “When my mom said goodbye to me during move-in day two years ago, she told me ‘no matter what, make sure you surround yourself with people you trust and people who keep you safe’. I’m sure she was just being motherly in saying this,” Summer said. “I’m sure she didn’t know that on that same night, I would be raped.” After that day, Summer said she found herself fighting — through an invasive medical examination, friends questioning the validity of her story, police interrogations and a
school investigation where she was forced to come face to face with her attacker — only to be told that there was not enough evidence behind her claim. “I fought to appeal that decision and then, just when I had done all of the fighting I thought I could do. After months of being blamed, being called a liar and being beat down over and over again, I was gang-raped at a fraternity party. This time by three or four men whose faces I never saw,” she said. It takes an immense amount of courage to speak about these types of incidents, whether to a friend, a police officer or to the world, Summer said. Nothing about the process is easy, but it is incredibly important. Summer’s experiences prompted her to help other survivors. During her time at Rutgers, she helped create a chapter of No More, an organization that works to reduce stigma and spark dialogue around sexual violence, while encouraging funding, advocacy and prevention. “What we need to talk about is, not just what happens to assailants and attackers, but what happens to victims,” said Cassandra Grod, a
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