Providing a voice for Washburn students since 1897 Volume 144, Issue 16
News Pages 1-3 Human trafficking month
washburnreview.org
January 31, 2018
Opinion Page 4 Doomsday Clock
College students say it is important to intervene when you see a friend being abused, but 58% say they don’t know what to do.
Sports Pages 5-6 Face your cardio fears
Features Pages 7-12 Top 10 video games of 2017
Top six reasons why college students are reluctant to report dating abuse
78%
think that it will make it worse for the victim feel it is not their business
College students say they don’t know how to get help for themselves on campus if they were a victim of dating abuse.
38%
think that it will hurt their relationship with the victim know the suspected abuser
One in three dating college students have given a dating partner their computer, online access, email or social network passwords and these students are more likely to experience digital dating abuse.
36%
Data from loveisrespect.org
February brings awareness to issues of dating violence Charles Rankin Washburn Review charles.rankin@washburn.edu
February is Dating Violence Awareness Month, a time to talk about consent, care, communication and what it means to engage in healthy relationships. While this month is a good time for students to look at their own dating relationships, many are not entirely sure what dating violence entails. “Often times we think [of domestic violence] as they’re married or they’re older. When you think about dating violence, often times the criteria that classifies something as dating violence, most people don’t call it that,” said Shelley Bearman, project coordinator for sexual assault education and prevention at Washburn. Bearman said there are many signs of dating
violence, such as a partner who is overprotective and wants to always know where you are or pressures you into sharing your passwords. “[This is] actually dating violence because it infringes on your rights as an individual person,” Bearman said. In addition to not always being seen as signs of dating violence, Bearman said that society can sometimes glorify these actions as being romantic especially in some media portrayals. “It’s not romantic when you don’t have a choice,” Bearman said. “It’s kind of like consent. You can’t give consent if saying ‘no’ means that you’re going to be fearful that something bad will happen to you.” According to Bearman, a lot of it hinges on the idea that people need to recognize their own individuality. While doing things as a couple is fine, both parties
need to agree to it. People also need to know that doing your own thing without your partner is okay too, and your partner needs to understand that. While much of the research on dating violence is focused on teens, there are still staggering numbers about college students and their limited knowledge of the subject.
“Our actions speak to the culture we want to create,” Bearman said. “Our inaction equally speaks to the culture we want to create.” More than half of college students have trouble identifying dating violence and about the same amount say they don’t know how to help someone who’s dealing
are afraid the abuser might make their life worse on campus are afraid that people who know it was them who reported it Washburn provides confidential victim advocacy. If you have concerns for yourself or a friend, contact Molly Steffes-Herman at (785) 670-3100 or at molly.herman@washburn.edu or visit her office in Kuehne Hall, Suite 200. Graphic by Cody Dannar
with it, according to information gathered by loveisrespect.org. Bearman does offer some ideas on how to recognize dating violence and how to help someone who is the victim of dating violence. Bearman says that ultimately creating a community of care is key. “Our actions speak to the culture we want to create,” Bearman said. “Our inaction equally speaks to the culture we want to create. If we see something and we don’t know those people, if he grabs and shakes her… we know that that’s not a healthy relationship. There are things that we can do where we’re not putting ourselves at risk.” Bearman lists a few things one can do. One such thing is distracting or drawing the attention away from the situation, maybe having a friend announce to people a dance break to
get everyone involved at a party or asking the people involved in the situation a simple question and change the subject. Another thing might be to find a friend of the victim or the perpetrator and have them intervene in the situation. The ultimate goal is to diffuse the situation and also be safe while doing it. Molly Steffes-Herman, the campus advocate for Washburn, has some advice on helping people who witness or are affected by dating violence. She suggests that if you are on campus and you see something that you feel is wrong to find someone who has any kind of authority. “[Faculty are] responsible for making sure that campus is safe,” Steffes-Herman said. See Dating Violence Awareness Month Pg. 2
Brownback steps down to serve as religious freedom ambassador Emily Unruh Washburn Review emily.unruh@washburn.edu
“I personally feel blessed by the time I have spent serving our great state and would like to observe a time of prayer and fasting before God takes me on to the next part of my journey,” said Gov. Sam Brownback in a proclamation made Monday. “I invite all Kansans to join me as we pray for our state and our nation.” Brownback asked Kansans to fast and pray on his last full day in office, which was Tuesday, Jan. 30. He will resign as governor at 3 p.m. Wednesday and Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer will complete the remaining term. Brownback is stepping into the position of ambassador-at-large for internation-
al religious freedom. President Donald Trump nominated Brownback for the position in July, but he was confirmed last week when Vice President Pence broke the 49-49 tie for confirmation in Congress. Freshman political science major Bailey Sater said that the confirmation took longer than she thought, since “he was expecting to win easily.” This delay led to “slow going in the statehouse due to a lack of leadership,” said Sater. “He gave the Lt. Gov. many of his duties during the time, but it was still pretty confusing about who was governing Kansas.” Sater was uncertain about what accounted for the long delay, but mentioned Brownback’s tax plan, which she said, “made him unpopular among both par-
ties,” as well as “concerns about statements he had made in the past regarding refugees and immigration.” A Republican, Brownback was first elected Governor of Kansas in 2010, and before that served in other political positions including as a U.S. Senator, and Kansas Secretary of Agriculture. Brownback is a licensed attorney, and practiced law in Manhattan, Kansas before his election to the statewide office of agriculture secretary according to The Kansas City Star. “Brownback’s new appointment is alarming,” said John Williams, senior English major. “The events that have occurred from his beginnings as governor...to his appointment as ambassador-at-large for international freedom have been
anything but the support of religious freedom.” In his new position, Brownback will play an important role in making sure that the people Photo by Lou Collobert who actually do the foreign Brownback speaks at the 2018 Kansas Rally for Life on steps of the Capitol. The rally was one of the final policy, from the events Brownback attended as governor of Kansas. the president Williams said. down, care about prioriWilliams cited things such tizing religious freedom, writes the Washington Post. as Brownback’s support of conversion therapy, and his “[Brownback’s] continued support of anti-Semitic work to remove LGBTQ+ workers rights and Planned groups such as the New Parenthood from the state Apostolic Reformation and has them, “very woris a totalizing factor that ried for the projection of his positions are rooted in religio-political stances that the United States and the effects it’ll have on counseek to reshape societies based on Christian values,” tries around the world.”