A student-created documentary has raised awareness of an issue some students say has been long forgotten.
The documentary "State of Assault" was shown Tuesday evening in the David Letterman Communication and Media Building as part of this year's Women's Week.
"State of Assault" narrates the story of Ann Buta and Olivia Hartzell, two survivors of sexual assault who were willing to tell their experiences to raise awareness of their situations.
The documentary is the result of a Fall 2008 immersive learning program led by associate professor of biology John McKillip. The program involved students majoring in social work, women's studies, criminal justice, psychology and telecommunications.
McKillip said he wanted to work on a project about forensics because of his area of study. The project then expanded and involved different disciplines.
"[The project] grew into more of a social problem-solution type of situation with the victim aspects," he said. "So it grew from there into something that quickly became interdisciplinary. I wanted to include these areas too, even though they were outside my area of expertise, because I knew that would have the highest chance of making a difference."
The production was funded by the Virginia B. Ball Center for Creative Inquiry, McKillip, who wrote the petition for the grant, said.
However, it was the students who worked on most of the project, having written and developed the story in the form of a documentary, he said.
McKillip said getting with a team of students willing to step out of their comfort zones can really make a difference.
"Everyone put their part into the production," he said.
Preceding the 27-minute documentary was a forum in which the audience asked questions and commented on sexual assault.
McKillip said one out of every three women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime. According to the documentary, not much attention and support has been given to victims of sexual assault.
Sophomore psychology major Amanda Reyome said through experience she knew some victims lack attention.
"I had a girlfriend who was assaulted on campus, so I was pretty much a firsthand witness," she said. "I think the truth of it is really sad but I'm hoping that they keep doing productions like this to raise awareness and fix the problem."
Senior social work major Brittany Albertson said a sexual assault response team has recently opened in Muncie but it is still in the process of growing.
"Programs themselves are hard to develop but they are necessary," she said.
McKillip said he believes a slow change will develop in society once people learn about the problems.
"There is a very emotional tie even for people that haven't ever known anyone who has been sexually assaulted who want to help," he said. "All we need to do is be aware of the problem."
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