Name: Anna Copic
Age: 21 years old
Hometown: Portland, OR
Major: Business
Take a minute to read all about the wonderful things that Anna and the rest of Oregon’s FSL Task Force are doing to inform Fraternity and Sorrority life on campus about sexual violence prevention:
“As a member of University of Oregon’s FSL Task Force for Sexual Violence Prevention, I educate the Greek Life community in an effort to change campus culture. Sexual assault is far too common, yet neglected by people due to discomfort, lack of education, and negligence. The Task Force is on a mission to make talking about sexual violence prevention a priority. We are committed to starting the conversation and educating the community so they can participate in ending sexual assault at the University of Oregon. We educate Greek Life and the rest of UO about gender norms and discrimination, consent, stalking, street harassment, abusive relationships, sexual misconduct, and resources available to assist survivors of these abuses if they so desire. I share stories, tactics, and remind people that how they feel when they’re hooking up is extremely important.
“Consent can be such a gray area, but it shouldn’t be. I think people are often afraid to ‘kill the mood’ by asking for permission or talking about what they want or what their boundaries are. It may feel uncomfortable at first, but talking about it and respecting your partner is so important. I don’t think the mood will feel as dead once your partner knows exactly what you want and like. Consent is fun. Consent is sexy. Consent is an absolute YES. Not a ‘maybe,’ not ‘okay,’ not ‘sure.’ Consent is two people wanting each other openly, whole-heartedly, and respecting each other’s boundaries absolutely at every step of the interaction.
“The advice I have to give is some I have had trouble taking before. Living in a hookup culture is hard because it makes sex seem so casual. It seems like hooking up is just what we’re ‘supposed to do’ as a bunch of riled up college students, even if we’re not into it. So my advice to young women living in college hookup culture is this: Check in with yourself. If you are not 100% into a hookup, you do not have to do it. You never owe sex to anyone. Ever. If during a sexual encounter you are not having fun or you realize you would rather be doing something or someone else, try to remove yourself from the situation or spark open communication with your partner. Your happiness, comfort, and sexual wellbeing should be top priorities for you and the people you decide to spend personal time with. You’re too important to accept hookup culture as the norm. Maybe if college students decided to not treat sex so casually, our encounters would be exceptional.”
“I got involved with the task force because I became uncomfortable about how casually sex was treated among my peers. I felt there was a lack of clarity and communication about sex that most people did not care to address. I care deeply about my peers and want to inform them of the respect they deserve, so I felt that the Task Force was a great way to do that.”
-Anna Copic
If you want to contact the Task Force, email Kerry Frazee, Director of Sexual Violence Prevention & Education at University of Oregon at kfrazee1@uoregon.edu or Anna at acopic@uoregon.edu.