The national “No More” campaign, which has been active since 2009, was adopted by the Office of
Student Conduct and SGA. The campaign focuses on raising awareness of problems caused
by crimes such as dating violence and sexual assault. Courtesy of Whitney Bell
The “No More” campaign has taken the university by storm, leaving behind a newfound knowledge about the issues of domestic and dating violence in its wake.
“No More” is a national campaign adopted by the Office of Student Conduct and Student Government Association to encourage students to say “No More” to violent sexual crimes.
The campaign has been active since 2009, sparking conversations across the nation According to the official website of the campaign, despite the progress in making more people aware of these issues, the problems caused by domestic violence and sexual assault affecting millions still remains hidden and “in the margins of public concern.”
Representatives from the domestic and sexual prevention field came together and agreed to unify under one goal: to end these problems and make an impact on the public’s awareness.
“Because domestic and sexual abuse affects everyone, there is a national push for primary prevention, and I felt that this campaign was most fitting to get the movement started at Southeastern,” said Antoinette Alack, assistant director of the office of OSC. “SGA President, Stephanie Travis was equally excited about the cause and enthusiastically took the lead to promote the campaign to the student body.”
Alack said because this campaign is already on a national level, it was easy for the university to make it their own to share with the community of Hammond. The “No More” Project is encouraging the public to support the mission of ending crimes of violence. As a function of Student Conduct, they also share the same message as the campaign, "promoting a safe, orderly and civil university environment.”
“OSC wants students to know that if they experience such an act of violence they can and are encouraged to report it to our office, UPD or the University Counseling Center,” said Alack.
To help bring awareness to the campus, Dr. Rebecca Hensley, SGA, UPD, UCC and OSC conducted several programs during the months of August and September. The project strives to continue its message, encouraging academic departments and organizations to team up with OSC for ongoing and future prevention efforts.
Students looking to get more involved with the campaign may become a part of the Student Outreach and Advocacy Representatives, also known as SOAR, a departmental group created by the Office of Student Engagement to represent them and help with implementing prevention initiatives.
“My hope from the efforts of this prevention strategy is to empower our campus community to not be a bystander and allow domestic and sexual violence,” said Alack. “I would like students to feel empowered that they are an important part of social change and they can help to improve their environment.”
According to Alack, No More poses the question, “Why should I care?” The campaign goes on to answer this question with facts. One in three women and one in four men experience violence from their partners in their lifetimes, one in three teens experience sexual or physical abuse or threats from a boyfriend or girlfriend in one year, one in five women are survivors of rape, one in two women and one in five men have experienced some form of sexual victimization in their lives and one in four women and one in six men were sexually abused before the age of 18.
“These are not numbers. They’re our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, children, co-workers and friends,” said Alack. “They’re the people you confide in most at work, the guy you play basketball with, the people in your book club, your poker buddy, your teenager’s best friend or your teen herself. The silence and shame must end for good.”
To learn more about the campaign, visit their official website at nomore.org. To get involved, visit SOAR’s website at southeastern.edu/soar.