Grant to help IU fight sexual harassment

Sexual harassment will soon be getting more attention on campus, following a $5,000 grant to the Office of Women's Studies and the creation of a new student committee designed to address the issue. \nPart of a new national study, "Drawing the Line: Sexual Harassment on Campus," the grant will allow the office to create a new student program, called Shape Up!, and will help it further the study's findings, said Carol McCord, assistant dean for the OWA. \nThe grant was awarded from the American Association of University Women, an advocacy group which conducted the study. IU was one of 11 schools to receive awards. \nWhile plans are still in the works, "Shape Up!" plans to hold educational programming and forums for students, as well as harassment training sessions for residential advisors in the dorms. Advertisements for buses and bulletin board campaigns will also be part of the plan, McCord said. \n"We want to change the culture, and my views as an adult aren't going to change the culture. The goal for all of us is to help individual students say to one another what they are willing to say anonymously in the survey," she said. \nOther student groups are joining Shape Up!'s efforts, including the Raising Awareness of Interactions in Sexual Encounters group and the IU Men's Coalition.\nNigel Pizzini, an advisor for the IUMC, said his group will give workshops and presentations in resident halls and fraternities, and plans to hold other campus events to address the current culture of masculinity, which he says has a direct effect on the lives of women. \n"The only way to change woman's experiences of harassment and objectification is to facilitate a change in the way men conduct themselves," he said. "There are people here who are committed to that cause of raising awareness. Whether we're going to change the culture of masculinity, that's no small task." \nHaley Pollack, a senior and a coordinating member of Shape Up!, said she hopes her group can raise awareness about the sexual harassment problems, and can help students find programs available to help them deal with harassment.\nThe study, conducted through online interviews with 2,036 college undergraduates, found that nearly two-thirds of college-aged students have been sexually harassed in some form. The AAUW found that the most common kind of sexual harassment was nonphysical, including jokes, looks and jests. One-third of students reported being harassed physically, such as being touched, grabbed or forced to do something sexual, according to the study. \n"There is a culture of sex harassment on campus now," said Elena Silva, director of research for the AAUW. "Students have come to tolerate and have come to almost expect it."\nThe study found that men and women are equally likely to be harassed during their college years, although women are more frequently the target of physical contact, while men are commonly called homophobic names like "gay." \nThe AAUS defines harassment as sexual behavior that is unwanted or unwelcome, Silva said. According to the report, men are more likely than women to harass, with 51 percent of college males reporting they had harassed in some form, compared to 31 percent of women who had done the same. \nBut Silva said one of the most notable parts of the study includes the amount of students who report harassment to college officials -- 7 percent -- a number she says is surprising, given the amount of pain sexual harassment can cause students. \n"For some reason, sexual harassment has almost become a part of college life ... despite the fact that it makes you feel bad, it doesn't make you feel bad enough to report," she said. "There's something about that in-between, telling no one and officially reporting it, that students are getting stuck"