To shed light on student awareness and experiences concerning sexual assault, the University's Sexual Assault Education Office will distribute a survey this week.
This is the most all-encompassing survey the office has distributed, covering sexual and domestic violence, according to Claire Kaplan, sexual assault education coordinator.
"We have not done a study on this issue in a long time, and we have never done a study on domestic violence," Kaplan said. "We need to have this information so we are not in the dark."
Kaplan said a computer program will select students at random.
"We will send out surveys to 25 to 35 percent of the student body, and we are aiming for a response from 15 percent," she said.
Participants will include men, women, undergraduate and graduate students to determine the problems each group of students face, Kaplan said.
Student Council and the Office for the Vice President of Student Affairs provided funding for the survey. The exact cost of the survey is unknown, Kaplan said, but it is relatively inexpensive.
"It is a pretty good bargain," Kaplan said.
Student Council supports the survey, Lela Graham, women and gender affairs committee chair said.
"I think we need to bring more awareness to sexual assault because it affects everyone every one in the University community," Graham said. "Sexual assault is a big term that can mean rape, harassment or fondling."
Graham said she hopes the information provided from the survey will generate programs and education about sexual assault.
Students who are selected and complete their survey are eligible to receive a $50 gift certificate for Crutchfield Electronics, Kaplan said.
"Generally when we do surveys that are a little stressful to do, we need to give an incentive," she said. "The survey takes a half-hour to 45 minutes."
The survey is broken into four sections, Kaplan said.
"The first part has survey questions like what would you do if you heard, witnessed or participated in harassing behavior," Kaplan said. "The second section deals with relationship behaviors. The third section is about sets of beliefs, which deal with accurate or inaccurate information about sexual assault. The fourth section deals with experiences with sexual assault."
Kaplan said the Sexual Assault Education Office consulted other renowned studies to create the survey.
"The study is based on well-established research," Kaplan said.
Before the survey was distributed, it underwent an approval process, Kaplan said.
"The Instructional Review Board reviewed the survey based on how we conduct the survey and the confidentiality," she said.
Kaplan said she is not certain when the results will be available.
"We will stop accepting submissions after 4 to 6 weeks so we can work on analyzing the data," Kaplan said.
After analyzing the data, Kaplan said the University will determine what needs are not being met, and create programs to meet those needs.
"We will have a meeting to go over the results," Kaplan said. "We will work on our education programs and see if we are meeting the needs of the students or if we need to add or change [the programs]."
The survey is important, Kaplan said, because it will prove what needs are not being met, which will generate funding for programs.
"We can get grants when we show that there is a need," Kaplan said.
Graham said she believes all students will profit from the survey.
"I would speculate that we need education" about all forms of sexual assault, she said. "No particular group is void of the effects of this issue. Every one can benefit from this information."
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