Stephanie Carrier

Feature Article
May 3, 2016

Breaking the Silence on Sexual Assault

One in three woman and one in six men will be a victim of sexual
assault before the age of 18. Only one in ten rapes that occur are reported
(CNN). The 1st of April marks the well-known holiday, April Fools Day, but it
also marks the month of Sexual Assault Awareness. To raise awareness
around campus, SUNY Cortland hosted a weeks worth of events to recognize
a serious matter that students should not take lightly.
On the same day this year, campus police alerted SUNY Cortland
students of a rape incident that occurred during the early morning hours. The
incident took place in a residence hall on campus and the suspect was
known to the victim prior to the incident. Despite this most recent incident,
Lt. Chauncey Bennett of NYS University Police at Cortland said, Overall,
crime is far reduced in the 25 years Ive been employed here. Although
crime has been reduced in reference to whats been reported to authorities,
the numbers do not account for crimes that haven't been disclosed,
regarding sexual assault.

Its extremely difficult to put a number on sexual assaultIf you limit

us to only whats reported to judicial or whats reported to us, youre only
seeing a small number of the assaults that actually occur. Bennett said, Its
difficult for us to say how many there are and how many there arent. He did
assure that every time a crime incident occurs, campus police make sure the
community hears about it via safety alerts.
Lt. Chauncey Bennett also stressed the importance on how
underreporting is not limited to just rape incidents, but inappropriate acts of
touching without consent. Junior at SUNY Cortland, Jenn Crowley witnessed
an incident a few weeks ago when she was downtown with a friend.

An older man was sitting next to a girl who was unconscious and I saw
him touching her inappropriately. She said, Me and my friend went up to her
and asked her if she was okay. Although the girl was unable to answer,
Crowley and her friend got her water and a safe ride home. She and her
friend were told by the man that the girl was none of their business.
Later in the week, on Wednesday April 13, an information session was
held in Corey Union called, Interrupting Rape Culture. The session was led
by numerous speakers on campus ranging from UPD, to professors, to
different club/organization leaders who discussed the issue of sexual assault
and offered tips on how to practice bystander intervention. Their goal is to
prevent potential incidents from happening in the future. The room was
packed with a mix of both male and female students ranging in age. Many
students were left to stand, as all the seats filled quickly.
Title IX Coordinator, Nan Pasquarello spoke to the students on her
responsibilities within the campus. Because of the many incidents that are
left underreported to the police, Pasquarello described how students may
report to her office in confidentiality, without getting the police involved. As
a result, the individuals get access to options and resources while making
sure they meet their educational goals.
As a way to get the student body involved during Sexual Assault
Awareness week on campus, Nan Paquarello and Cortlands Its On Us,
action team hosted their annual, Take Back the Night, march for students to

protest and break the silence on sexual assault. Cortland had its biggest
turnout this year with over 300 students marching throughout the campus.
Pasquarello summed up Cortlands goals for the students in continuing
sexual assault awareness, We would love to get more people to take positive
steps. Bystander intervention is huge in getting students to look out for
eachother. She said, If we could prevent it from happening in the first
place, that would be greatand if it does happen, we want to make sure we
are responding appropriately.

Because of scenarios like Crowleys, her successful effort to intervene,

she stopped what couldve escalated into a more serious situation. She said,
I hope after confronting him, he understands that it was wrong and I hope
other people notice what we did and take action to help stop sexual assault.
Its not right to do and its a problem that needs to be solved.
Thanks to the students, staff, and campus police, who are aware of the
issue of sexual assault and take measures to practice bystander intervention,
SUNY Cortland is on the way to breaking the silence in getting more students
involved towards interrupting rape culture.