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The Campus Climate Response Group is attempting to become more proactive after past reactive responses by implementing new safety messages, they said at their Forum Wednesday.

"It is a big job we are trying to tackle, sometimes it is out of crisis," Chris Wuthrich, associate director of student conduct, said.

Steve Nakata, director of communications and public relations, presented the idea of 'social norming' to the group. Instead of telling students not do something we are trying to put a positive spin on the information, Nakata said.

The first step is to focus on a theme and provide a simple message, he said. We don't want the message to be complicated or unclear, Nakata said.

Director of Residence Life, Eleanor Finger, agreed with Nakata. The marketing plan for 'social norming' needs to be provocative and interesting, she said. The campus needs to focus on promoting a healthy campus for faculty and students, Finger said.

The parents also need to be informed, which can be done through the use of the WSU parent newsletter, she said.

Chris Wuthrich placed 'social norming' on the list for the next meeting. Safety is a broad topic so the idea needs to be narrowed down, he said. A timeline needs to be created, like when the best times to reach students are, Wuthrich said.

When asked what the target concern for WSU students is now, Wuthrich said he was unable to answer the question directly.

"Depends on the time of year," he said.

At different times, different risks are higher like when school begins or around the holidays, he said. Yet, for the message the group needs to pick a specific idea like violence or alcohol abuse, Wuthrich said.

The month of October seems focused on sexual assault. The Can I Kiss You? Program occurring October 15th in the CUB auditorium is an assault oriented presentation.

Finger said a lot of students are unclear and uncomfortable about how to navigate intimate circumstances. This dialogue will hopefully help students understand common misinterpretations and address what sexual violence involves, she said.

Also, ASWSU is hosting the second annual safety banquet October 30th.
ASWSU President Derick En'Wezoh represented ASWSU at the meeting.
The banquet is conveniently the day before Halloween which typically is a day that many students have problems, En'Wezoh said.

This year’s speaker used to be a police chief and focuses on assault and safety on college campuses, he said. The speaker is flexible with his time here and can inform the audience about a lot of different things based on his broad area of experience, he said.
Violence on the WSU campus is not a new occurrence. Director of the Gender Identity/Expression and Sexual Orientation Resource Center, or GIESRC, Heidi Stanton said students rallied after the alleged assaults last October.

The assaults were against members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community. Police offered escorts to at risk students and Women's Transit broadened their ridership to include members of the LGBT community, Stanton said.

Student organizations pushed for WSU to pass a bill changing the definition of sexual orientation under hate crime law. Now, effective since July 26, Washington state senate passed bill 5952 which officially changes this definition.

"We were one step ahead of the state on this one," Stanton said.

Framed in the GIESRC is a copy of SB 5952.
"This bill has been a long time coming," Stanton said.

Washington has been rather progressive, liberal and well intentioned but there is always room to move forward, she said.

"Never settle for the status quo," Stanton said.

During the House Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee meeting, Chairman Christopher Hurst expressed his dedication to this bill.

"I think that as a society if we do not protect the rights of every single person to live their life as an individual, as a human being and to respect their belief, their sexual orientation, their gender, their religion, then we as a society have failed," Hurst said.

Committee Rep. Sherry Appleton also supported the bill.

"So this is a good bill and I hope it has a lasting effect. That we won’t see any more young people hanging on fence posts or being run over by cars or dragged behind trucks or whatever the horrible incidents have been," Appleton said.

However, opposition still existed for SB 5952. Rep. Kirk Pearson voted no on the bill.

"I'm a father and I have a son in college. I would be outraged if something like that happened to my son at his university or where he is at and I'm outraged that it happened at Washington State University," Pearson said. "I believe a crime is a crime, an assault is an assault. However, what has happened is deplorable. I'm a no but will be interested to see how this bill moves through the process."

The implication of the bill at WSU and in the state has influenced other schools. Stanton said that University of Puget Sound also used WSU's bill for their school's policy.

Contacts:

Sherry Appleton
(360) 786-7934

Derick En'Wezoh
derick_enwezoh@wsu.edu

Eleanor Finger
efinger@wsu.edu
(509) 335-1227

Christopher Hurst
(360) 786- 7866

Steve Nakata
nakata@wsu.edu
(509) 335-1774

Kirk Pearson
(360) 786-7816


Heidi Stanton
hstanton@wsu.edu

Chris Wuthrich
wuthrich@wsu.edu