State College Police, Penn State Student Leaders Talk to White House on Sexual Assault Awareness Campaign

State College and Penn State are getting involved with a national effort initiated by the Obama administration to curb sexual assaults on college campuses across the nation.

The White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, formed in January of this year, has announced the “It’s On Us” public awareness campaign to educate the public and further efforts to prevent sexual assault.

This announcement comes at a time when three sexual assaults and one indecent assault have been reported to State College police since Thursday, September 18. 

State College Police Chief Thomas King and University Park Undergraduate Assoaction President Anand Ganjam both say they’ve participated in conference calls with the White House to learn more about this campaign and bring it to State College.

King – along with community leaders from college towns across the country – took part in a conference call with United States Vice President Joe Biden, who explained the “It’s On Us” campaign and its goals for college communities.

King says State College police have been involved with educational and preventative measures on violence against women for about a decade, and adds that this new campaign fits well with the goals of the department. 

The campaign’s goal is to prevent sexual assault by engaging the public and turning it into an issue that every member of a community takes part in. King says sexual assault is an underreported crime, meaning there’s only so much the police can do to prevent it.

“We have to talk to our families, our kids, our friends, our classes and our co-workers about this,” King says.  “We think that if we can have more people talking about, and if more people are actively saying this isn’t okay, then hopefully more women will be willing to come forward because they feel supported and won’t have a stigma attached to them.”

King says police departments also play a role in making sure victims of sexual assault are treated with empathy and not “revictimized by a criminal justice system that is out of date and antiquated.”

UPUA president Ganjam was originally in touch with a White House representative during the summer, when he took part in conference call with student government leaders from colleges across the country.

The White House representative asked student government leaders to bring together major stakeholders in this issue at their respective campuses, something Ganjam says Penn State has already done with last year’s sexual violence prevention and awareness roundtable.

While Penn State is currently being investigated by the United States Department of Education for compliance with federal laws related to sexual assault, Ganjam says the university is “making good progress” on this issue. Last year saw a flurry of programming related to sexual violence, while university president Eric Barron has recently announced a sexual assault task force. 

“This is a huge issue, and not just at Penn State,” Ganjam says. “”By taking a strong stance on this issue, we’ll hopefully create more awareness all across the country.”

Ganjam says he expects to be in touch with White House representatives later this week, and is waiting to receive educational materials to distribute around campus.

Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers says the university plans on airing the new “It’s On Us” public service announcement at this weekend’s homecoming game against Northwestern. Penn State will continue to look for more ways to bring this message to the student body in the coming months.

“We have no greater priority than the safety of our students, faculty and staff, and we should be talking consistently about this issue and about how we can improve the campus climate,” Powers says. “Penn State has done a vast amount surrounding this issue, but more is needed and more can be done.”

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