On Oct. 24, Oswego State students took to Marano Campus Center to take the It’s On Us pledge with It’s On Oz.
It’s On Us started in 2014 and is a national movement to end sexual assault. According to the It’s On Us website, the campaign began along with the White House Task Force to Prevent Sexual Assault under the Obama administration.
“It’s On Us is a national campaign to raise awareness for sexual assault and domestic violence, and then It’s On Oz is our school’s campaign, so that’s our take on It’s On Us,” said Isabella Winklestine, Services to Aid Families (SAF) Oswego State campus advocate.
SAF is Oswego County’s domestic violence and rape crisis program. As a campus advocate, Winklestine collaborates with Title IX Coordinator Lisa Evaneski to put on educational preventative programs.
It’s On Oz is an organization on the Oswego State campus that works to educate students on sexual assault, domestic violence and Title IX. According to its Lakerlife page, it is “dedicated to bringing awareness to and prevention of sex discrimination, sexual harassment, stalking, domestic violence and dating violence.”
During the day It’s On Oz interns and volunteers tabled, encouraging students to take an online pledge through It’s On Us to help put an end to sexual assault and violence. Students who took the pledge were given It’s On Oz T-shirts and took photos with props in front of an It’s On Oz backdrop.
“We really appreciate everyone coming out and taking the pledge,” Winklestine said. “It’s a great way for everyone to show their support.”
Students stopped at the tables to speak to the It’s On Oz interns, get more information and take the pledge.
“When I was signing up at the table, I saw lots of others taking the pledge too,” said Megan Campbell, an Oswego State sophomore. “It is important to do events like this because, otherwise, we don’t hear about these serious issues.”
It’s On Oz started in 2016, along with It’s On Us. According to Evaneski, It’s On Us day on campus started with It’s On Oz buying shirts and having a pledge day, but on a smaller scale than it is now.
“That’s really when we started to realize we need to do more programming, more training,” Evaneski said. “It’s On Oz is our prevention campaign, so everything falls under there – our It’s On Us days, our One Love workshops and any other prevention that we do and training that we do.”
Throughout the year, It’s On Oz holds Title IX training workshops, where members discuss topics such as how to spot an abusive relationship and what resources there are for victims of sexual assault. They also host other larger events like It’s On Us day and, in the spring semester, Yards for Yeardley.
“Sexual assault is a very serious issue that is still not talked about enough and occurs on a lot of college campuses,” Campbell said. “It is important to me to get the word out to other people that this is in fact a serious issues that occurs much more often than we think.”
Evaneski said she has seen growth in It’s On Us day each year and is happy to see where it will go in the future.
“We don’t even know where it’s going next, or how big it will get, but it’s been really exciting to watch our community come together and find ways to make prevention normal, make prevention something that we do every day,” Evaneski said.
Photo by Shea O’Malley | The Oswegonian
