Now that Sue Ellen Hughes has been hired, officials say some weight will be lifted from the shoulders of the Ohio University Department of Health Education and Wellness.
Hughes was hired in November as the department's new assistant director specializing in sexual-assault education and prevention - a position that had been open at OU since July.
Officials hope that with Hughes on board, the department will receive an increase in reports of sexual assault, which may have sagged during the time the position was unfilled.
The department was unable to immediately replace its former assault educator, Samantha Brauner, because of a hiring freeze enacted by OU President Robert Glidden in February 2003.
Char Kopchick, director of the department, said many students wrote letters expressing concern when the position was frozen. The department was without a full-time assault educator for all of Fall Quarter, which she said was the most crucial time to educate the incoming first-year students.
In 2002, there were 47 reported sexual assaults, including rape, sexual battery, public indecency and sexual imposition or forcible fondling, according to OU Police Department and sexual-assault survivor agencies on campus.
The 2003 statistics have not yet been compiled; however, OUPD had a total of three reported sexual assaults for the year. The total for 2003 is expected to be significantly lower than previous years as assaults are expected to go unreported because of the lack of a full-time sexual-assault educator, department officials said.
In an attempt to make up for the lack of a full-time worker, the department worked many extra hours and utilized the help of the peer health education group POWER.
Kopchick said she thinks having a position primarily devoted to sexual-assault awareness education and prevention shows a change in the university's attitude to confront the issues head on.
Sexual assault happens on all college campuses, she said. But for many years the issue was not addressed because university officials felt that it reflected poorly upon the institution. I get more frightened when colleges don't have staff that address the issues or their sexual assault numbers
Kopchick said. If you ignore the issue it will not go away but no one will really think that you have an issue on your campus.
Hughes provides information to survivors of sexual assault. She said research has shown that a person who has been sexually assaulted is more likely to report the incident if there is somebody they can talk to or identify with. If there is one person with whom they can talk it makes them feel less threatened
Hughes said.
Hughes is in the process of planning many new programs at OU. One of the ideas is to establish an all male peer-education group.
Patrick Hanlin, an OU graduate student in counseling, organized a similar group at Central Michigan University. He has volunteered his time to help with the new OU group.
Hanlin said it is important that students be educated about sexual assault because too many people think it will not happen to them.
I think people have to realize that it can be them
and it probably will happen to somebody that they love
he said.
Hanlin will be speaking on the topic of male perspectives of sexual assault tonight at 7 p.m. in Jefferson Library. The event is open to the public.
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Amanda Leff
