Today, students dressed in 1918 attire will quote famous women’s suffrage speeches, looking to draw parallels to a movement aimed at sexual assault education and action.
Ball State’s Amnesty International chapter will host a demonstration in order to increase awareness and to encourage the administration to become even more effective in dealing with sexual assault and violence, the group said.
“We chose the suffragettes because, number one, it’s been almost 100 years since then and also for their courage,” Natalie Abell, co-director of the chapter, said. “We’re trying to channel the courage they had to stand up for something that seemed impossible to change at the time.”
The organization also will hold signs with adapted quotes and a spin on the Ball State slogan, “Prevention education redefined.”
Ball State has a number of resources on campus to fight against the effects of sexual assault, including a victim advocate and a program to educate students on the “Red Zone,” the first six weeks of Fall Semester where sexual assault is prevalent.
Matthew Smith, co-director of Amnesty International, said there is still room for improvement.
“Ball State does a really great job compared to other universities on some of these issues regarding sexual assault and violence prevention,” Smith said. “They are active and making improvements. We’re just here to keep pushing them along and letting them know the students are with them, and maybe provide them with new ideas they haven’t thought of.”
Bianca Russelburg, social media coordinator for Amnesty International, said the group has an anonymous online form posted on their Facebook page to collect suggestions from Ball State students about what the university can do to combat sexual assault. They also will collect signatures for a petition asking the university to take more action against sexual assault. They said they will then send both the ideas for improvement and signatures to Ball State President Jo Ann Gora.
Russelburg said the ideas, which are not posted publicly, mainly concern education about the issue and support the ideas the group has as a whole. Smith said one specific change Amnesty International would like to see is more education on bystander intervention.
Apart from encouraging the university to extend programs, they also hope to educate students. They will hand out action sheets telling students where they can go if they have been a victim of sexual abuse or violence and provide students with information on how to foster healthy, consensual relationships.
“It’s not even just about the administration, it’s about the students,” Russelburg said. “I’m sure there are students who don’t even realize this kind of thing is an issue. They don’t even realize what true consent is.”
According to the National Clery Act, for 2013 sexual assaults are on the rise at Ball State with six reported in 2010, eight in 2011 and 11 in 2012.
The demonstration will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m today outside of Bracken Library.
Smith said that although he is male, it still is an issue that applies to him.
“I think we need more men that are willing to step up and say yes, this is a problem,” Smith said. “We, as men, need to take leadership for other men, saying that this is not OK.”
This will be the group’s second demonstration of the school year, following their protest against Guantanamo Bay, where they performed a mock waterboarding demonstration. Russelburg said these kind of visual demonstrations are necessary.
“You kind of have to go that extra step to get people’s attention nowadays because everyone’s attention is everywhere,” Russelburg said. “I think these sorts of demonstrations really do make a difference.”
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