Chancellor, students pledge to take a stand against sexual assault as part of US ‘It’s On Us’ campaign

UCI Chancellor Howard Gillman, graduate and undergraduate students, and representatives from the Campus Assault Resources & Education team signed a pledge Monday, Oct. 6, to take a stand against sexual violence as part of the “It’s On Us” campaign. The initiative launched by President Barack Obama encourages individuals to take a proactive role in ending campus sexual assault. Other “It’s On Us” partners are MTV, VH1, the NCAA and the U.S. Olympic Committee. “We’re trying to send a very important signal to the campus that we want everyone to take the same personal responsibility,” Gillman said. “It’s not another person’s problem. It’s on all of us.” The university is committed to creating an environment free of sexual offenses, including sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. It implemented an expanded policy prohibiting sexual offenses that provides faculty, staff and students with detailed information on how to proceed when learning of an offense. But Gillman said it’s not enough to create policies to prevent sexual offenses and then wait for an incident to occur before acting. Instead, he said, “you have to be relentless on this issue,” work together and take a stand. UCI also unveiled a sexual offense information website for faculty, staff and students that lists resources for victims too.