A recent campus climate survey conducted by an independent consulting group deemed UW-Platteville a “rape-prone” campus.  The group also recommended that the University set this as a priority.  Certain groups, UW-Platteville housing, and some individuals on campus have brought in internationally and nationally known speakers such as Jackson Katz and Josh Jasper to direct and train faculty and staff on the Bystander Intervention Model used to prevent and intervene on micro aggressions and sexual assault.  The Chancellor, his cabinet, and some faculty and staff have received an overview of the Bystander Intervention model.  Unfortunately, the University has not provided the necessary funding for a systematic program to instruct all the students and faculty in Bystander Intervention skills.  This evidence based-program is known to reduce the incidence of sexual assaults on campus.  The program is intended to occur over four years and will instruct each incoming freshman class in the Bystander Intervention model.  That way, students who participated in the program the previous year(s) can help to instruct the next freshman class.  Thus, by the time the first freshman class graduates, almost all students at UW-Platteville would have received education in effective Bystander Intervention strategies and skills.  The program is estimated to cost only a little over a dollar per student. 

This petition is intended to raise awareness and create action to make a difference in decreasing the rates of sexual assault on UW-Platteville students and providing a more respectful and civil campus.  Please let the University and the Chancellor know that you care about the safety of our students and want to learn how to make a safer and more respectful campus climate.  By signing this petition you are issuing a call to action for the necessary funding for a program to systematically instruct UW-Platteville students and faculty in the Bystander Intervention program.