This past February, the It’s On Us organization recognized Shippensburg University as one of the top 16 schools nationwide that registered the highest number of campus activities related to sexual violence prevention.
SU’s It’s On Us chapter, an organization dedicated to combatting sexual violence on college campuses, is a newer addition to the campus community, with it beginning in the fall 2024 semester. Seth Kaufman, who graduated last fall, registered and created the SU chapter.
Currently, the organization is run by co-presidents Grayson Houser and Emmett O’Bell.
“Our mission is to make sure that people our age are aware they have power to not only be aware that it’s [sexual assault] is happening and support when it happens, but also prevent it,” said O’Bell.
It’s On Us hosts a variety of workshops dedicated to educating the SU community about sexual assault and intimate partner violence. It’s On Us also works closely with the Pride and Gender Equity (PAGE) Center to host campus events that are meant to support survivors of sexual assault or domestic violence.
“It feels really exciting that we are being recognized for doing that work and that array of work,” said Miller Hoffman, director of the PAGE Center. “I’m really proud and I’m really pleased that the student group of It’s On Us is growing.”
Some of the events include “Take Back the Night,” where SU survivors and allies were invited to share their stories and break the shame that some may feel regarding their past trauma. It’s On Us also organized Denim Day, where students wore denim in solidarity for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
The organization has many goals for the future. Houser and O’Bell want to collaborate with other organizations, such as Greek Life and the athletics department. They also want to increase campus engagement. One of the ways they did this was with a bike raffle, in which interested students would have to watch two videos related to sexual assault prevention to enter the raffle to win a bike.
Houser and O’Bell are looking to host events and workshops related to anti-stalking in the future. They explained that their goal is to challenge the normalization of cyber-stalking, the act of using the Internet to track and/or intimidate a person repeatedly and begin conversations about how to prevent stalking.
The goal Houser and O’Bell have with It’s On Us is to make SU students feel safe on campus, along with giving students who have a desire to fight campus sexual assault a place to do so.
“There’s always something you can do,” Houser said.
It’s On Us tables in the CUB Great Hall every Monday from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Its next workshop is March 10, at 5 p.m. in CUB 231, or “The Closet.”
For more information about It’s On Us, check their Instagram @its_on_us_ship.
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