Elizabethtown College athletic teams were required to attend a sexual assault prevention program sponsored by the Athletics Department and the Student-Athlete Mentors (SAMs) in Gibble Auditorium on Feb. 9. The College’s 400-plus student athletes flooded into the auditorium where they listened and interacted in the presentation Sex Signals.
“The intent of the program is to help our student athletes become stronger leaders, good citizens and quite simply, better people. Programs in recent years have dealt with topics such as the ramifications of drug and alcohol abuse, leadership and nutrition. This semester, the program related to sexual assault prevention,” Nancy Latimore, director of athletics, said.
Sexual assault prevention will begin to be a more prominent topic of discussion on many college campuses in the country. In January, President Barack Obama formed a task force and charged it with developing recommendations for colleges and universities to prevent and respond to sexual assault crimes and to increase public awareness of each school’s record of sexual assault cases.
“Educating student leaders on campus, such as student athletes, can have a positive impact throughout the campus culture,” Bruce Lynch, director of student wellness, said. “The College provided similar programming on sexual assault prevention and bystander response to all incoming students, peer mentors and resident assistants at the start of the fall semester. National statistics suggest that college student athletes are more at risk for perpetrating sexual assault compared to other subgroups on college campuses. It’s considered the best practice to offer this type of prevention program.”
Amanda Cheetham, health educator in student wellness, said “We wanted to provide a safe place for people to ask questions or discuss the topic so that this important information can continue to spread to the entire campus. Our goal is to facilitate sexual assault prevention as well as provide support to survivors of sexual assault.”
Among the many student-athletes in attendance was sophomore Evan Roche. He stated that the main message of the presentation was “to be careful and aware of different sex signals that could be misconstrued by different people.”
Cheetham stressed, “We talked about the ABCs of bystander prevention: assess for safety, be with others and care for the victim.” Another reason for hosting this event is to explain to students how and where to report any sexual misconduct. Cheetham also explained to the athletes at the meeting that they can talk to a resident assistant, Campus Security, the Dean of Students Office or the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities.
Students can also file a report with the campus’ Title IX Coordinator, Betty Rider or Title IX Deputy Coordinator, Allison Bridgeman. “There are also confidential resources on campus in Counseling Services and the Chaplain’s Office to provide support to sexual assault survivors as well as students impacted in other ways by sexual misconduct,” Cheetham said.
The College is committed to continuing to provide opportunities to educate its students on and discuss this topic. This specific sexual assault prevention program was only offered to student-athletes because it was sponsored by the athletic department. The College hopes to offer a similar program to other departments on campus in the near future.
