The fall semester of college is an exciting time for students, especially for first-year students navigating a newfound independence and a lively campus filled with new people. As students converge on campus and East Lansing for the start of a new academic year at MSU, its common for individuals to encounter uncharted social situations, meet new peers and navigate foreign surroundings. Unfortunately, it’s during these times — when students are outside of their comfort zone — that certain people look to exploit these circumstances to commit sexual violence.
Studies show that more than 50% of campus sexual assaults occur during the timeframe spanning the beginning of the academic year through Thanksgiving, making it critical now to spread awareness and foster a culture of safety, support, and prevention.
“Learning how to intervene if you see something happening on campus and where to go to receive support are important life skills for navigating a large campus,” says Kelly Schweda, executive director of MSU’s Prevention, Outreach and Education Department, or POE. “We want to educate our campus community so that everyone is aware of available resources and how to support each other.”
Campus resources ready to help
MSU is committed to empowering its staff and students by requiring annual training to help the campus community understand, identify, respond to and report relationship violence and sexual misconduct, or RVSM. In addition, MSU offers various resources designed to prevent occurrences of sexual violence, relationship violence, and stalking; address occurrences that do happen; and provide comprehensive support for survivors. The following resources are always available:
- MSU Safe Ride, a late-night transportation service provided to the MSU community as a safe and free alternative to walking home alone.
- Department of Police and Public Safety, a resource for reporting crimes or suspicious behavior, or to seek assistance for victims of crimes.
- MSU Center for Survivors, which provides free and confidential services to survivors of interpersonal violence. This includes all forms of sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking.
- The MSU Sexual Assault Healthcare Program, or SAHP, is located in the Student Services Building and is open 24/7 with specially trained nurses onsite who can provide medical forensic history, injury assessment, medications to prevent sexually transmitted infections, emergency contraception, support and resources. On-call crisis advocates can meet survivors at SAHP to offer supportive resources, explain options and assist survivors in decision-making about their healing journey. Crisis services include a 24/7 hotline at 517-372-6666 and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. crisis chat service at centerforsurvivors.msu.edu where survivors can receive anonymous support and connections to resources.
- MSU Safe Place provides shelter and other services in an environment that is safe and supportive to all identities, including advocacy, counseling, support groups, safety planning and referrals.
- Counseling and Psychiatric Services, or CAPS, provides in-person and virtual confidential psychiatric and counseling support to students Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Students can access crisis counseling 24/7 by calling 517-355-8270 and pressing “1” at the prompt.
- Office for Civil Rights and Title IX Education and Compliance supports the campus community in creating and maintaining a safe environment and a culture of respect by educating all campus community members how to prevent, identify, and appropriately respond to and report discrimination, harassment, stalking, sexual assault and relationship violence. Students, staff, faculty and visitors can report any conduct that may violate university policies.
- The National Sexual Assault Hotline is a free, confidential service that provides 24/7 help via phone at 800-656-HOPE (4673) and 24/7 crisis chat services at rainn.org.The National Sexual Assault Hotline is a free, confidential service that provides 24/7 help via phone at 800-656-HOPE (4673) and 24/7 crisis chat services at rainn.org.
Empowering survivors and preventing violence
In addition to these resources, MSU encourages students to participate in awareness programs like the It’s On Us Week of Action, which emphasizes the importance of speaking out against sexual violence. These types of initiatives build a community commitment to the prevention of violence and contribute to supporting and empowering survivors.
“It’s important that survivors know they’re not alone and there are people ready to help, no matter what they’ve experienced,” says Stephanie Anthony, director of the Office of College Access Initiatives and RVSM Workgroup co-chair. “We’re building a community where everyone feels supported.”
Raising awareness about the heightened risk for sexual violence during this critical period can play a crucial role in preventing these incidents. Increased awareness empowers students to access resources and intervene when harm occurs, fostering a culture of safety and respect across the campus community.
What you can do
Students can do their part by staying informed, attending prevention workshops and looking out for friends. Importantly, remember that sexual violence is never the survivor’s fault, and support is always available. Whether through reaching out to a trusted friend, using campus resources or calling the National Sexual Assault Hotline, there are pathways to healing and justice.