Administration

Sexual Assault Task Force member voices: Community acceptance

Sexual misconduct on college campuses has been a nationwide topic of conversation in recent months. Soon after he took office, Penn State President Eric Barron charged a group of 17 students, faculty and staff with relevant expertise to address the issue at Penn State. The Task Force on Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment — chaired by Vice President for Student Affairs Damon Sims — on Jan. 29 released a report containing 18 recommendations to establish a new and transformative University plan that positions Penn State to be a national leader on the issue.

In a video series, members of the task force talk about the challenges in researching the issue, learning about the student experience and developing new potential policies for the University community.

Sims discusses recent attention given to the issue of sexual misconduct across the nation’s college campuses, in part because of student activism.

The problem of sexual assault on college campuses has been around for quite some time. Damon Sims, VP Student Affairs sees change coming about by student activists demanding change. Credit: C Roy Parker

Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs Joe Puzycki says that acceptance of the task force’s recommendations at Penn State will have to be a grassroots effort, and students will need to embrace the University’s efforts for change to happen.

Joe Puzycki, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Task Force member knows that change will only occur if students embrace the recommendations report. Credit: C Roy Parker

Kim Ménard, a Penn State assistant professor of criminal justice and women’s studies, talks about sexual assault being a taboo topic of discussion for many people. She adds that if people realized silence doesn’t help the situation, more people would speak out.

Task Force member, Kim Ménard believes that the subject of sexual assault is taboo for most, but hopes that the recommendation report will spur community to discussion and a foundation for education. Credit: C Roy Parker

Click here to watch more videos in the series.

Last Updated September 23, 2020