Saint Mary’s College’s Campus Action Project Grant: Use Your Voice
Saint Mary’s College, Indiana
Use Your Voice
The “Use Your Voice” workshop was presented to more than a thousand students in the Indiana community. The workshop lasted four days and was the culmination of St. Mary’s CAP Team research on Crossing the Line: Sexual Harassment at School.
St. Mary’s College CAP team developed “Use Your Voice,” a 60 minute interactive workshop based on AAUW’s research report Crossing the Line. Across a four-day period, their team presented the workshop to around 1,200 ninth grade students in the Indiana South Bend Community School Corporation. They spoke to groups of 20-30 students at a time in several schools.
Students Speak Up Against Sexual Harassment”
- The Observer, “Program Educates Local Teens”
- ABC57 news, “Group gathers outside St. Joseph County Courthouse for Equal Pay Day”
- Saint Mary’s College, “Students Receive Grant to Curb Teenage Sexual Harassment”
The “Use Your Voice” presentation included three sections: education, reflection, and action. In the educational section the team led a discussion about what sexual harassment at school is and the various forms it can take. Next, each student was provided with a notebook and pen to journal about the information presented, questions asked, and other reflections. After approximately 10-15 minutes of journaling, each student was asked to share something brief that they wrote or thought about and were willing to share with the class. Then third, the team talked to students about how they could be an active bystander. The students brainstormed ways they could positively react to and intervene in situations involving sexual harassment (of them, friends, or classmates).
The workshop was very well received by both boys and girls in all of the classrooms. The CAP team also sent copies of Crossing the Line to each high school and the local School Board.