It’s On Us is a national campaign that was created in 2014 by President Obama and Vice President Biden. It started as a small movement to raise awareness of sexual assault on college campuses, but in the past three years, it has grown to become a nationwide initiative. With the help of celebrity sponsorships, campus recruiting and social media influences, It’s On Us has spread massively. As of today, all 50 states have universities participating in the program, and Florida State is proud to recognize itself as an official member of the It’s On Us campaign!
Over the summer, It’s On Us admitted its inaugural class of Campus Organizers; Campus Organizers are responsible for recruiting members to join the It’s On Us team, lead the campaign, and plan events throughout campus. There are two Campus Organizers at Florida State: Samantha Jones and myself, Alejandra Villabona. We couldn’t be more excited to be affiliated with such a strong campaign and effect change on campus!
As a woman, as a friend, and as a student, It’s On Us means everything to me. I personally know women who have been victims of sexual assault and are silent about what occurred to them. Our aim with It’s On Us at FSU is to create an environment where victims don’t feel the need to hide and are comfortable with coming forward. However, beyond that, we are attempting to create a campus where sexual assault no longer occurs.
Female students are four times more likely to be victims of sexual assault. Of these women, only 20% report their case to officials, and overall, 11.2% of students on campus experience rape or sexual assault. In fact, one in five women and one in sixteen men are sexually assaulted during their college years. Odds are, we all know someone who falls under these statistics.
This week marks It’s On Us’ “Fall Week of Action.” The Fall Week of Action is oriented around bringing small events on campus throughout the week to raise awareness and educate fellow students on campus about It’s On Us. For FSU’s Fall Week of Action, our focus is using social media and engaging the members of the community! One of our first initiatives has been to promote our social media by taking pictures promoting our mission with our executive team and with students around campus.
For this reason, we are encouraging everyone to take the pledge in the fight against sexual assault here.
For more information about It’s On Us, check out the national It’s On Us website. Also, follow our social media accounts:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ItsOnUsFSU
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsonusfsu/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsonusfsu/
All photos courtesy of the author .