URBANA – Participants at a solidarity rally Thursday called for survivors of sexual violence to be heard, and for the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to strengthen its response to students found responsible for misconduct.
The event brought together student groups and attendees who said sexual violence remains a sweeping concern on college campuses. They said survivors need more visibility and support — to feel heard and believed.
Hannah Castro, a U of I senior and member of the campus Amnesty International group, said the rally’s intention is to bring to light how common experiences of sexual violence are.
“I think everybody has a story or they know somebody that does,” she said.
The group organized the event after seeing similar calls to action at campuses across the country, Castro said.
“We were kind of waiting for somebody else to step up,” she said. “But… nobody has approached this on our campus, so we need to be those people.”
A call for accountability
The messaging at the rally focused on both solidarity and campus policy.
About 30 attendees marched from the Alma Mater to Foellinger Auditorium and back, carrying signs with messages such as, “Believe Her the First Time,” “Expel Rapists,” and “Justice for all Jane Does,” referencing the allegation of gang rape at Cornell University that has gained national attention in recent months.
Castro said Amnesty International wants harsher punishments for perpetrators of sexual violence.
“We want expulsion for violators of Title IX,” Castro said. “We don’t just want dismissal or suspension. We want something that will actually bring justice to survivors and deter this from happening ever again.”
U of I policy allows students to be dismissed for sexual misconduct, but a dismissed student may petition for permission to return, and the university can approve or deny that request.
Student disciplinary procedures say sanctions are determined after a student is found responsible through the disciplinary process. The university’s “We Care” site lists possible sanctions and outcomes.
Students push for more resources for survivors
Attendees also emphasized the need for survivors to know where to turn for support and resources.
U of I junior Keira Chopp, a rally attendee and LAS 101 instructor, said she tells students about campus and community resources, including the Women’s Resources Center, which she feels needs to be more widely publicized.
“I feel like a lot of people don’t know that women have their own resource center on Green Street,” she said.
Chopp also said she attended to stand with people in her life who have experienced sexual violence.
“I want to be here to represent every woman I know,” she said.
Other student groups represented at the rally included “It’s On Us at U of I,” which focuses on preventing sexual assault and building a culture of consent.
Amreen Tejani, a U of I sophomore, said bystander intervention is a major part of that work, including interrupting insensitive jokes and using approaches such as the 4 D’s – distracting, delegating, directing and delaying.
“Do not be a bystander,” Tejani said. “You can do so much more than you think by being a little uncomfortable.”
Castro said rally organizers plan to collect feedback from attendees about what they believe is lacking on the U of I campus. They intend to turn that feedback into a campaign letter to present to the university, with concrete requests for policy changes and additional resources.
