Here’s some more campus news for you! Lots of promising changes are happening on campuses all over the country right now, including Marquette University. And I’m thrilled to hear that Marquette’s new program will focus on primary prevention strategies such as bystander intervention. Here’s an overview of the components of program:

The three parts include an online educational program, faculty-led education on sexual assault at Marquette and bystander intervention strategies led by student peer educators.

Daood [Assistant Director of Marquette's counseling center] said the primary objective of all programming efforts is to help students define sexual assault, recognize predatory behavior, intervene as a bystander and be compassionate to peers who have been sexually assaulted.

It’s also noteworthy that the university’s latest prevention efforts target athletes and members of Greek Life—groups that, based on research, are more likely to subscribe to rape-supportive attitudes and beliefs.

He also said it would make a statement if every individual in a fraternity or a sorority went though the training because that would mean over 700 students committed to receiving education on sexual violence.

The decision for Greek Life to join the initiative was made because fraternities specifically received media attention regarding the issue and the council leaders wanted to show that Marquette Greek Life is taking action against sexual violence, he said.

Earlier this week, I also learned that Marquette invited alumna and survivor Nancy Donoval to deliver the keynote speech during the school’s Sexual Violence Awareness Week. This sort of event, which taps into something researchers call “victim empathy,” can be a powerful primary prevention tool when it comes to reaching perpetrators and potential perpetrators.

What steps are your schools taking to prevent sexual assault on campus this fall?