A class at AU is working to promote sexual assault awareness in a positive light with the Yes Campaign.
The Communication and Social Change class in the School of Communication is responsible for the public relations portion of the campaign, according to Mark Purdy, a student in the class.
"At the beginning of the semester our professor, Jeff Bieber, told us that our class was going to be responsible for developing a semester-long campaign addressing sexual assault," Purdy said. "Students in the class agreed that we wanted to develop a campaign with a positive message, instead of saying be afraid of sexual assault, the Yes Campaign says, go out and enjoy sex but do it in a healthy, safe way."
The Yes Campaign is an effort put out by the class to tell students that they should communicate with their partners before a sexual experience occurs, according to Purdy. The campaign advocates respect between sexual partners, he said.
"We argue that for a person to communicate with their partner beforehand is a sign of respect, and that respect between two people is the foundation of all healthy relationships," Purdy said.
The entire class worked on the campaign, he said. The class was broken up into four groups, each given a different task: public engagement, communications, video and Web design.
The class held various events throughout the semester to spread their campaign message. Events included partnering with Take Back the Night, handing out door hangers and coasters at college night at Clyde's restaurant and sponsoring a game show night in The Tavern.
AU students said they think the Yes Campaign is a great idea because it is sending a positive message, unlike many other sexual assault campaigns that tend to be negative. However, some students said they were unaware of the campaign.
"I think it's a good idea," said Krista Murray, a junior in the Kogod School of Business. "They can't be doing such a great job getting their message out, though, I haven't heard about it."
Rita Gallina, a senior in SOC said she had not heard about the campaign.
"I think it's great to have a positive campaign because it will bring a new light to the issue and will prompt people to make a change and help others," Gallina said.
The class also used various media outlets to get their message out, Purdy said.
"The message is being disseminated through various channels," he said. "Accounts for the Yes Campaign have been set up on Facebook and Twitter [and] videos were created [on YouTube] with messages of how to engage in healthy, safe sexual relations."
At the end of the semester continuation of the campaign will depend on the responses they receive from people, Purdy said.
"The campaign will continue if people show a lot of support and would like additional events and information," he said.
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