Towson’s Student Government Association (SGA) implemented a campus-wide “It’s On Towson” campaign last weekend to remind the university community that when it comes to preventing sexual assault, “It’s on us.”
The campaign, which is part of a broad, nationwide “It’s On Us” initiative, seeks to inform the campus about the importance of bystander intervention, says SGA President Kevin Kutner.
“Sexual misconduct is a major issue affecting college campuses across the country,” Kutner says. “While Towson does a lot to address that issue, there is always more we can be doing.”
To learn more about “It’s On Us”, Kutner and SGA Vice President Becky Wiacek attended a student roundtable at the White House on Oct. 22. Student leaders from Maryland colleges were invited to discuss strategies to inform campuses about how to end sexual assault.
“We had the opportunity to talk about Towson and what we do now, and also get ideas from other schools of what we can do in the future,” Wiacek says.
To launch the campaign, the SGA aired a 90-second public service announcement (PSA) during the halftime show at Saturday’s football game.
The PSA featured Towson students, faculty, staff, and Acting President Dr. Timothy Chandler, all of whom have taken a pledge to act when they witness situations that may involve sexual assault. The video will also be displayed on various screens across campus.
Wiacek says the SGA plans to offer isolated programming in the spring for students to learn more about identifying sexual assault. It also plans to film three more PSAs during the academic year.
“We’ll be looking to get other student involvement and to get our faces out there so it can be a very relatable campaign,” Wiacek says.
By the end of the year, Kutner hopes the entire campus will get involved.
“Whether it’s administration, faculty or, most importantly, students, we can all be active in ending sexual assault at Towson,” he says.
