NEWS
New program successfully makes ‘speaking up’ about harassment easier
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Wednesday, April 10, 2002
As many harassment reports have been filed at UW-Madison this week as were reported in the first three months of last year. But this statistic may have nothing to do with an actual increase in harassment on campus.
Rather, a new, aggressive harassment-reporting drive by the Associated Students of Madison Diversity Committee Tuesday can be accredited.
The committee has stepped up its efforts to improve UW-Madison’s Speak Up program, run by the Dean of Students Office. It was designed for students to report harassment based on race, religion, gender, ability, age and sexual orientation. If students are found guilty of harassment, there are a number of punishments they may face, including mediation and education.
Jenny Chen, diversity co-chair, said the program has gone significantly downhill since its start in 1995, when 64 students reported.
Reports were collected from students who were walking through the Multicultural Student Center in the Red Gym. The stories will be compiled, bound, and presented at the Hip Hop Generation concert next weekend.
Although she could not comment on the total number of reports they had collected, Chen said the project has been successful. Sixteen reports were collected from the first session on April 5. In contrast, said Chen, the Dean of Students office had received 12 reports by this time last year.
“We need to let students know of the options they have available to them if they are harassed,” Chen said. “Speak Up is a fine program, but it doesn’t do students much good if they don’t know about it.”
ASM Diversity Liaison Jesse Kiley agreed.
“If we were able to get 16 reports from students on a Friday afternoon, imagine how many we could get in a year,” he said.
Chen said although the committee had no plans to pursue a third reporting drive, they are now considering approaching students at the Asian Showcase Saturday. They are also planning on making a mural so students can express their stories artistically.
