Erin

Sullivan: News Story Writing Example

October 12, 2015

The need for action against incidences of sexual violence and gender
inequality is no stranger to universities nation-wide; while open discourse on the
topic remains idle.

A Conversation about Campus Sexual Assault invited students at CU Boulder to come
listen to, and have an interactive discussion with, four guest speakers and their
peers last Monday.

Leah Sprain and Peter Simonson, professors in the Department of Communication at
CU, helped organize the event for students who are members of the Communication
and Society Residential Academic Program. Their goal: to start a conversation where
students typically would not. Topics included the realities of sexual assault,
resources for victims, methods of prevention, and the testimony of a survivor.

Upon entering the doors of the massive math building lecture hall, students were
yielded to jot down questions they desired to have answered on vibrant neon sticky
notes. At 7 p.m. sharp, murmurs hushed and Simonsons voice overcame the silence,
giving a disclaimer for the topic afootone that may be hard for some to hear and
talk about, but one that is very present and important on campus.

Sarah Gilchriese, a graduate of CU, has the word, survivor tattooed on the back of
her left shoulderand in white inkas if a scar from the battle she endured. Sarah
expressed her outrage from the universitys neglect and mistreatment of her assault
case. She shared her personal experience of being raped by a peer, the trauma she
faced while her perpetrator remained on campus, and her drawn-out and
frustrating legal journey to press charges.

Thus, Title IX was a prominent subject of discussion, primarily noted by CUs
Director of Institutional Equity and Compliance, Valerie Simons. Simons has made
tremendous changes in the Title IX coordination at CU in the past year, ensuring the
remedial and protective measures they have after an assault and addressing what
victims need. She has also helped simplify the process for reporting assault, so that a
singular office handles the entirety of the case and the victims assistance.

My goal is to have many more educators, and less investigators, Simons said.

A student in the audience asked simply, How bad is it?

Simons replied, One in five college-aged women confirmed she paused, its
high.

Another guest speaker was Colorado Public Radios Education Reporter Jenny
Brundin. She mentioned the need for students to break through the thick barrier of
talking about sexual conduct. Brundin claims that students cant even talk about
healthy sex, therefore its no wonder the subject of rape triggers them into such a
state of discomfort. The neglect of open discourse results in mass ignorance within
students who could later be victims, or perpetrators, themselves.

The evenings last speaker, Ed Heisler, is the Executive Director of Men as
Peacemakers (MAP), an organization that promotes strategies to achieve gender
equality and undermines roots of violence like sexism, male dominance, racism and
homophobia.

Heisler spoke about the spectrum of prevention. This is a public health tool MAP
developed to illustrate the pairing of policy with organizational practices. Ed says
that this platform, encourages sustained behavior through thinking changes.
(See fig. below)

Figure 1 Ed Heisler with his Spectrum of Prevention Model.
Photo by Erin Sullivan

In a private interview before the event, Heisler spoke about his efforts to work with
universities on changing their mission statements and staff applications, such as
requiring athletic and academic directors to complete training modules about
discrimination and assault prevention.


Campuses are some of the coolest places in our country, tells Heisler, so to have
it overshadowed by this harm, its something we should really change.

Hear more of our interview with Ed at: https://soundcloud.com/erin-sullivan-
468332594/ed-heisler-interview

Figure 2: Title IX Infographic created by Erin Sullivan
Information source: http://knowyourix.org/title-ix/title-ix-the-basics/