Campus Life

Step In, Stand Up During The Fall Semester

College students are at a higher risk to experience sexual violence the first six weeks of classes, which makes it a more crucial time than ever to step in and stand up.
By Sam Peshek, Texas A&M Marketing & Communications August 16, 2016

step in stand upCollege students are at a higher risk to experience sexual violence the first six weeks of classes, which makes it a more crucial time than ever to step in and stand up, according to Dr. Cynthia Hernandez, associate vice president of the Texas A&M Division of Student Affairs.

Hernandez said the uptick in reported incidents of sexual assaults on campuses across the country stems from incoming freshmen, transfer students, graduate students and international students adjusting to life in a new place – many of them for the first time.

“As people are forming new friendships, they are just getting to know each other. Whereas before, maybe with your high school friends, you might have been more confident to step in to say something, to stop something,” Hernandez said. “You knew the individual and what their needs, desires, or limits were and that can be different when you are meeting someone for the first time or are in the first couple weeks of forming those relationships. Sometimes we see that bystander behavior might not be as active because of that.”

As new students are trying to find their place socially on campus, Hernandez said that conversely, students might be more cautious about intervening. Hernandez noted that the problem of students hesitating to step in and be an active bystander is not unique to Texas A&M’s campus, but it was a trend experienced by all 27 schools who participated in the 2015 Association of American University’s 2015 Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct.

The survey found that the 35 percent of student respondents said they had witnessed a drunken person heading for a sexual encounter. Among the bystanders, a total of 76 percent indicated that they did nothing. Approximately 21 percent of respondents said they weren’t sure what to do and 55 percent saying they did nothing for another reason.

According to Hernandez, just one person who knows how to spot a potential act of sexual violence and safely intervene can have a positive influence on the rest of campus and make “a world of difference.”

“That first semester when bystander behaviors are most needed I think people are questioning whether or not they should step in and say something out of fear of not fitting in,” Hernandez said. “If we could urge anything it would be to be that active bystander the first couple weeks.”

Another contributing factor to the increase of reported sexual assaults during the first six weeks stems from new found freedoms as it relates to alcohol and other drugs use.

“Sometimes, those who might be predators might be looking for situations where people might have been impaired by alcohol in order to prey on those individuals. They use the trusting environment that’s been created in combination with alcohol or other drugs as a way to lower inhibitions or incapacitate someone.”

Kelly Wilson, an associate professor, in the Department of Health and Kinesiology, received a grant for dating violence prevention curriculum research and said the first six weeks of school could also be a high-risk time for students in relationships.

“If a freshman begins dating or seeing someone exclusively within the first six weeks on campus, they should be aware of signs the relationship might become unhealthy and lead to an abusive or violent relationship. Unfortunately, youth who are victims of dating violence in high school are at higher risk to become a victim during college,” Wilson said. “Many of our students have just graduated high school and are entering college without basic information about sexual health, including ways to prevent intimate partner and sexual violence before it starts.”

Students interested in learning more about how to be an effective bystander in situations of potential sexual violence have access to those materials from the first day the arrive to campus through Step In Stand Up: Texas A&M’s campaign to reduce incidents of sexual violence.

Students can take the first step by through the online pledge to positively change campus culture. The site also serves as an online resource to connect organizations with presentations from the Office of Consensual Language, Education, Awareness, and Relationships (CLEAR), Green Dot bystander intervention training and other items to help spread word of the campaign throughout campus.

“President Michael K. Young really spoke to this last year when we started this Step In Stand Up campaign, that it’s all of our responsibilities and we don’t want these behaviors on our campus,” Hernandez said. “Together as a community we can really make a difference and that’s what this campaign is about.”

Media contact: Sam Peshek, Texas A&M Division of Marketing & Communications.

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