Casey Schieda
Freshman Blogging Project: Title IX
To begin Freshman year at Stockton University, every freshman, residential and commuter, had to attend mandatory events during Welcome Week. One event that stuck with me was called “Let’s Talk about Sex! (Consent and Title IX).” The program was held on Tuesday, September 1st, 2015 on campus in the I-Wing Gym.
In order to effectively relay the information, the freshman class was divided by gender, a female session and a male session. The program was run by the Women’s Gender and Sexuality Center and had help from other departments within the University as well. The main speaker, Laurie Dutton, began the program by explaining what it means to fully consent to sexual activity. She discusses the Red Zone, the first six weeks of college when most sexual assaults occur, and how to steer clear of these perilous situations. For example, campus police are always available to escort someone home if they feel unsafe walking on campus from either the campus center to their dorm or their friend’s dorm to their dorm.
Additionally, the speakers shared a story about a college student named Jeanne Clery who was raped and murder in her dorm room in 1986 at Lehigh University. This horrifying event led to stricter security on college campuses. The Clery Act states that universities and colleges must provide statistics of crimes and sexual assault cases on campus and in the surrounding areas to students. The act works cohesively with Title IX because Title IX states that universities and colleges must provide a safe environment for students, free of sexual discrimination and other sexual crimes.
Along with these legal aspects of sexual harassment and assault, the concept of consent was portrayed through a video about tea. The video was gripping and intrigued the audience, as suggested by the chuckles in the room. An example from the video was that the narrator mentioned, “If someone says they want tea, but then they pass out once the tea is made, do not continue to force them to have tea.” This was referring to a situation where someone consents to sex, then loses consciousness for whatever reason and can no longer consent to sex. The point was that if one could understand the concept of not forcing someone to drink tea, they should not force them to have sex. Thus, the event was informative for females and males because it discussed topics relating to sexual violence, assault, harassment, and consent.
I was really engaged in this program because I hear the horror stories on college campuses but never really think it will happen at my school. The event was an eye opening experience because anything can happen to anyone who is not careful and I want to be prepared and hopefully avoid a sketchy situation at all costs. Additionally, my mother was a student at Lehigh when the student, Jeanne, was attacked so I had heard her mention the story before and was glad to hear that her family made a positive out of a terrible situation. The Clery Act has probably saved so many lives just by publicizing the crime rates and sexual assault statics. As a whole, I thought this program was very helpful and relevant to incoming female freshmen and will have a lasting impact on the students.