By Cameron Pettrone
Contributing Writer
St. Bonaventure is taking steps along with the rest of the country in the fight against sexual violence with the new “Protect the Pack” initiative.
Juliette Bauer, a junior women studies and English major, is the current president of SBU 4 Equality on campus, the group that partially inspired the creation of Protect the Pack.
While SBU 4 Equality is more committed to a variety of social injustices such as racism and homophobia, Protect the Pack is almost exclusively focused on the education of all students on sexual violence in order to help better prevent its occurrence.
“We met with (administrators) and they were really open to it, and then when this year came around and changes were starting to be made, Nichole Gonzalez (director of residence life) approached me and said that both she and Rick Trietley (vice president of student affairs and Title IX coordinator) wanted to create another campaign branching off (SBU 4 Equality),” said Bauer. “We decided we were going to create something kind of the same breed, but a little bit different, and that’s kind of what has become the Protect the Pack campaign.”
The suggestions from administration helped lead the way for the creation of this group.
Bauer explains the group’s main goal is to educate all students on issues pertaining to sexual violence and the meaning of consent, focusing mostly on practical prevention methods rather than just Title IX logistics.
“We want to make it more personal,” said Bauer.
Amanda Brogan, a junior history major, is also in favor of supplemental teaching pertaining to Title IX. She believes that these seminars should not be limited to just freshmen, as they currently are.
“It is so hard to reach upperclassmen about Title IX, one because it can sound repetitive, and two, they probably don’t want to listen anymore to the same people giving the same training,” said Brogan.
“Besides making sure that everyone in each grade gets more than just the freshman year exposure, it is important, I think, to have it be relatable by having students talk to other students about it,” said Brogan. “I think that students listen more to other students than to adults.”
Taylor Kickbush, a senior journalism and mass communication major, elaborated on the extent to which the Protect the Pack campaign is hoping to reach students.
“At Protect the Pack, we will create a brand campaign, utilizing social media such as Facebook and Twitter,” said Kickbush. “This campaign will be the building blocks of Protect the Pack and will be the flame for the awareness we hope to create.”
She said, “Protect the Pack is about reinventing the Bona Bubble and being there for one another—in so many valuable ways.”
The group is actively seeking core instructors. Those interested can contact Juliette Bauer at bauerjr14@bonaventure.edu.
pettrocj16@bonaventure.edu
