‘Culture of consent’ event sponsored by Bucknell Greek organizations

OneStudent, a nonprofit organization consisting of two best friends, Kelly Addington and Becca Tieder, came to Bucknell’s campus with the intent to “create social change to reduce sexual violence” centered around the idea that “one sexual assault is too many.”

On Monday, October, 17th, 2016, Bucknell students gathered in the Weis Center to the event, sponsored by a number of Greek Organizations on campus, the SpeakUp program, and Panhellenic and Interfraternity Council.

The initial part of the program started with a bang. They said: “Get ready for a double dose of sexual empowerment…because if we’re going to create a culture of consent, we need to get comfortable talking about sex.”

During this time, Kelly shared her story as a survivor of rape as a means of inciting change on college campuses and Becca shared her story as her best friend during the time.

They said: “Inside every one of you is the capacity to leave this campus better than you found it.”

To truly create a culture of consent, the pair claimed, we have to follow a three step process:”1) get educated 2) look at the culture and address the language and 3) take action.”

Maddie Liotta, 20, Creative Writing, who attended the event was inspired by the call to action:

“In my experience, people talk about sexual/dating violence like it’s a huge deal (because it is), but then no activism sprouts from that outside of SpeakUP’s efforts. Students need to rally together if we’re truly going to dedicate ourselves to combating this issue on campus.”

They continuously emphasized the importance of removing the shame associated with sex: “There’s nothing wrong with adult consenting to sex, there is everything wrong with the shame…when we associate sex with shame, we create an environment where’s survivors won’t come forward.”

After a brief 10-minute intermission, the second half of presentation opened up to a Question & Answer session. Kelly and Becca addressed how to handle someone who’s been assaulted and who comes to you looking for support. They criticized modern sex education, claiming that, very rarely, are students taught about consent, and taught, instead, only about methods of contraception.

They ended the presentation, asking the group of Bucknell students: “What can be done to create a culture of consent on campus”?. Students spoke up, saying: “continue this conversation,” and “normalize healthy conversations about sex between partners.”

Maddie had positive things to say about the event as a whole:

“I thought they were really great speakers and it was empowering as a survivor to hear Kelly tell her story. I wish more people had gone, since it was advertised via Facebook for quite some time. I also wish that half the auditorium hadn’t gotten up and left before the Q&A portion. But, in general, I’m glad that Kelly and Becca could break down some societal awkwardness regarding sex and really plant these ideas in peoples’ minds”.

Kelly & Becca’s use of humor and blunt honesty made the event equally fun and eye-opening.

While Bucknell holds countless seminars and speeches on consent, this was one of the most effective.