Four years ago, a group of programs at MSU and the surrounding community gathered to share ideas and resources in assisting students who have been victims of sexual assault and to warn others.
The groups, now known collectively as the Response Review Initiative, have created a resource guide for the area that features sources for aid in relationship/domestic violence, sexual assault and sexual harassment.
“It’s not that the services are new,” said Holly Rosen, director of MSU Safe Place. “It’s the collaboration of the information to be accessible that’s new.”
The resource guide can be found on Olin Health Center’s Web site and lists area services and programs by phone number and Web site. It also provides tips for reporting complaints and definitions of relationship/domestic violence, sexual assault and harassment.
“It’s for students to be able to access easily and very quickly the resources available in the community,” said Erin Williston, the sexual health educator for Olin. “The community is very rich in resources but it’s sometimes hard to find them in one comprehensive guide.”
The Response Review Initiative is a collaboration of MSU Student Life, the MSU Sexual Assault Program, the MSU Counseling Center, the MSU Women’s Resource Center, Olin Health Center, Residence Life, MSU Police and Public Safety and MSU Safe Place.
“There really is a wide safety net for (students) at Michigan State,” said Deanna Hurlbert, advocacy coordinator for the MSU Sexual Assault Program. “There’s such a big overlap between dating and relationship violence and sexual assault that those service providers got together to create a document that will be reaching students to make sure they know about those services.”
Rosen said the Response Review Initiative is comprised of faculty and staff, but students had an “indirect” effect on the resource guide.
“Students have some input into some of the collaboration that we do in terms of deciding programming information and ideas on where to distribute the information,” she said. “It was made with students’ interests in mind, even though they don’t sit on the committee.”
Rick Shafer, assistant director for Student Life, said an argument could be made that the Initiative could have polled students, but the group already knew of the available resources.
“I would imagine that some members of the RRI shared with (students) but I don’t know that we directly solicited student input,” he said. “We’re trying to present information that students don’t know. I think we knew the answers and the resources, so we just wanted to put that together. One of the primary barriers is that they don’t know who to report to.”
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