New York state Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul came to Syracuse University on Wednesday to give a presentation about the “Enough is Enough” legislation and raise awareness about the new law.

A crowd of about 50 to 60 people attended the presentation at 2 p.m., which lasted about 30 minutes and took place in Eggers Hall Room 220. Among those in attendance were Chancellor Kent Syverud, University College Dean Bea González and several Department of Public Safety officers, in addition to other SU officials and members of the SU community.

Sheila Johnson-Willis, interim chief officer for equal opportunity and Title IX coordinator, welcomed the crowd and thanked several SU administrators for being there.

Rachel Martin, a peer educator for the Office of Health Promotions and a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, spoke next about raising awareness about sexual assault prevention both as a peer educator and a student. Martin then introduced Hochul, who was the main speaker during the presentation.

Hochul, an SU alumna, said she learned about activism and how to speak up about unjust situations while at the university.

Sometimes, Hochul said, it is easier to sweep issues like sexual assault under the rug. But she is proud that SU “had the guts to stand up and own this issue.”

Now that the “Enough is Enough” legislation is in place, Hochul said it is time to focus on spreading the word to make sure everyone knows about the law. She said SU is working to assemble people all across campus in order to make everyone aware of “Enough is Enough.”

“It is a whole new ballgame out there now because of this law,” Hochul said.

Hochul outlined a few of the law’s requirements, including the statewide definition of affirmative consent — “Yes Means Yes” — and amnesty for drugs and alcohol.

“Yes Means Yes” defines consent as “a clear, unambiguous and voluntary agreement between the participants to engage in specific sexual activity.”

The statewide amnesty policy ensures that “students reporting incidents of sexual assault or other sexual violence are granted immunity for certain campus policy violations, such as drug and alcohol use.”

Hochul shared a story about a young woman she met who did not have proper support and access to sexual assault resources after she was raped. Hochul said this is just one example of why “Enough is Enough” is so important.

“The status quo was not working,” Hochul said. “… This law means nothing if we don’t get the word out.”

When changing the sexual assault culture on college campuses, Hochul said, it’s not a matter of checking a box after freshmen attend a presentation during orientation.

“I want Syracuse to continue to be the incubator of ideas,” Hochul said.

She added that people in the SU community have to work together to raise awareness about sexual assault prevention and it’s not going to come from handing out pieces of paper.

Hochul said it’s up to the SU community to find ways to get this information out to everyone, whether it is through texting students or holding campus-wide presentations.

Hochul concluded the presentation by talking about her mother, who was an advocate for victims of domestic violence before people really knew what domestic violence was. She said she hopes victims of sexual assault become more widely known about and advocated for like victims of domestic violence have.

“We changed the culture before, we can do it again,” Hochul said.

At the end of the presentation, Johnson-Willis said SU is currently working to have a campus-wide screening of “The Hunting Ground,” a documentary about rape crimes on U.S. college campuses. An announcement about the screening will be coming soon, she said.

Published on September 30, 2015 at 4:19 pm

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