New campus sex-assault PSA launched

September 19th marks the one-year anniversary of the “It’s On Us” campaign, which was created to address sexual assaults on college campuses. A new PSA, a component of the campaign, was launched Tuesday and included a number of well-known celebrities.

Titled “The One Thing”, the star-studded PSA includes Zoe Saldana, John Cho, and Josh Hutcherson among others. The 30-second ad promotes a simple and direct message, that sex without consent is rape.

“It’s On Us” attracted more than 6,000 followers in the past year on Twitter alone.

Dr. Haven Simmons, an associate professor within the Communications Arts Department at Salisbury University, says adding big names the picture along with air-time online and on TV, the issue of sexual assault could possibly get help gaining extra attention.

“I think something analogous to that would be animal rights. Over the years, animal rights has gained a greater profile across our society, because of some the support its received from celebrities.” Explains Dr. Simmons.

A 2015 report from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center found an estimated 1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college.

Michele Hughes is the executive directors of the Life Crisis Center in Salisbury. She says PSA’s shared through social media are critical in order to reach a younger demographic, but a real step towards change begins with education and even-handed justice.

“We cannot treat you know, football stars…or whoever the star of that particular school is…we can’t treat them differently.” Says Hughes, “Rape is rape regardless of who the perpetrators are, regardless of who the victim is.”

In Spring 2015, House Bill 571 was signed into Maryland law by Governor Larry Hogan. It requires colleges to pursue agreements and relationships with their local rape crisis centers. Hughes say this expected to take effect this fall.