Earlier this semester, the Pennsylvania Department of Education awarded Gettysburg College a $40,000 grant as part of the It’s On Us PA campaign. This year marks the fourth consecutive year Gettysburg has received the grant, recognizing the College’s continued commitment to raising awareness and educating students about sexual assault.
“We are honored that we have been awarded the It’s On Us PA grant for four years in a row and to be able to continue to expand the work on campus around violence prevention and awareness. We are looking forward to being able to implement new programming and training in this upcoming academic year as part of the It’s On Us program,” said Title IX Coordinator and Director of Civil Rights Compliance and Education Amanda Blaugher.
Founded in 2014, It’s On Us is a national movement dedicated to ending sexual misconduct on college campuses. It’s On Us PA has built off this momentum nationally to bring together college and university presidents, superintendents, administrators, teachers, students, families, and community members to reframe the conversation around sexual violence and pledge to be part of the solution.
Ella Prieto ’26 is one of several students spreading awareness and educating peers on the issues of sexual assault. Becoming one of the first round of five fellows funded by the It’s On Us grant, Prieto is working toward creating a club focused specifically on It’s On Us initiatives and programming, which will increase the accessibility of sexual assault prevention education and resources across campus.
“A club helps with changing the culture because when you have your peers saying that it isn’t acceptable to make these types of jokes, or say certain things because that is reinforcing rape culture, it can be really hard-hitting because we’re used to adults telling us what to do,” said Prieto. “Increased student involvement will really impact the campus.”
The It’s On Us campaign has spread to 275 campuses across all 50 states, while more than 452,000 people have taken the It’s On Us pledge. Each year, Gettysburg has had more than 1,000 people sign the pledge, and this year, more than 24 events took place on campus to further educate students.
During Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April, the Office of Sexual Respect and Title IX hosted several activities, including a lecture on April 8 called “Just Another Assault,” presented by Bonny Shade, as well as a film screening of “Disfluency” on April 9. Other activities included a “Swipe Right on Healthy Relationships” workshop, as well as a tabling event during the April 6 women’s lacrosse to raise awareness about It’s On Us and the One Love Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is preventing relationship abuse.
Prieto emphasized the importance of the It’s On Us PA grant supporting awareness efforts. She helped organize this year’s Walk A Mile event with Greek organizations on campus and is also involved with the Not In Our House program, started by Gettysburg College’s Interfraternity Council and later included Panhellenic women when she became president.
“It’s a very powerful thing to have a variety of students all across campus wearing a shirt saying ‘It’s On Us,’” said Prieto. “I think that’s super important for the It’s On Us program to be out in the open and getting a lot of eyes on it.”
“We should be most proud of the Department of Education recognizing the work we’re doing,” added Blaugher. “Last April, we hosted the first-ever It’s On Us convening, which is when the Department of Education decided that they wanted to bring all the grantees together on an annual basis.”
Twenty-eight institutions were represented and 55 participants attended the event. Together with Camille Traczek ’22, policy aide at the Pennsylvania Department of Education and former It's On Us student ambassador, and Carlee Capece, deputy director of government relations at the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Blaugher presented on how Gettysburg College uses the grant and applauded all grant recipients coming together to prevent sexual violence.
“It’s not only us doing things that we would have done willingly, but also every one of the grantee schools coming together around the state,” Blaugher said. “It’s pretty cool that we’re able to share ideas, hear what people are doing, and come back with other ideas.”
Blaugher stressed the importance of expanding opportunities for education and awareness about sexual assault both to prevent it and encourage people to seek help. Because of these opportunities, Blaugher is proud of the increased awareness and dialogue around supporting victims of sexual assault and programs that can help.
“We can see an actual direct correlation with our reporting number when we started increasing education,” Blaugher said. “Statistically, we noticed this impacting people, and now, these people may not be worried if they are going to be looked at differently. It’s great to see that people feel comfortable accessing services and getting help.”
Next year, Gettysburg will launch the It’s On Us Playbook on Sexual Assault Prevention & Healthy Relationships for male student-athletes. Through this program, participants will take part in five workshops to learn about the tools and resources they need to engage in healthy relationships, become active bystanders, and prevent campus sexual assault.
In addition, they will all have the opportunity for individual consultations with It’s On Us Director of Men’s Engagement Kyle Richard, who shared his story with the campus community in 2021. Richard, a former football player at SUNY Cortland, was shot while trying to prevent an incident of sexual violence. He received several awards recognizing his actions, including President Joe Biden’s Its On Us Courage Award.
By Katie Lauriello ’25
Photos by Abbey Frisco, Alexandra Wein ’24
Posted: 04/30/24