Presson 1

Lily Presson

Sean Holstege

JMC 301 - 70926

21 September 2021

Story 2: Speech or Presser (DEADLINE)

ASU removed its’ Victim Advocacy from the ASU Police Department and placed it onto campus

per student suggestion, President Crow said during a Student Forum this week.

According to the ASU website, “​​The Arizona State University Police Department Victim

Advocate ensures crime victims on any ASU campus, witnesses and family members receive

free, confidential support.”

At the Student Forum on Tuesday, Crow said that he wants to “educate students in the concept of

the word ‘yes.’”

“No other word. No means no and no words also means no. We’ve been trying to work so

everyone understands this and that a yes can be converted into a no at any point.”

This concept could be vital to a safer campus in upcoming years.

The changes didn’t just affect victims of sexual assault crimes, as the university moved to

combine groups that cater towards crime victims.

At the Student Forum Dr. Joanne Vogel, Vice President of Student Services at ASU, said that the

university has “unified many groups,” and that ASU “has certainly modernized, enhanced and

expanded.”

With the Victim Advocate Department being relocated, students expressed a variety of opinions

on the modernization of this program.

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Ryan Bender, a student at ASU, said that he “wasn’t aware that the Victim Advocacy department

existed or that it was being relocated to campus.”

The service center, whose main focus is assisting struggling students, may have flown under

students’ radars while residing at the police station.

Bender also said that he “likes that it is being relocated to campus because it offers more efficient

use of the program to students.”

He added that he thinks “it should have always been on campus.”

He posed that the problem involved convenience issues.

“It’s almost out-of-sight, out-of-mind. If it’s not extremely accessible, odds are students won’t

use it,” Bender said.

Students are hoping that the Victim Advocacy program relocation will encourage a greater

number of victims to feel comfortable enough to seek help.

“I think more people will come forward and utilize this department because I think there is more

of a sense of victim blaming when having to go to a police station. It makes a victim of any form

of assault feel like they’ve done something wrong or committed a crime. By putting it on

campus, it creates less stress on the victims,” Bender said.

When asked if he thought ASU had done enough for survivors, Bender said: “I think ASU tries

its best to support victims of sexual assault. However, I think they can always do more to

implement policies and institutions that help victims and survivors.”

Another undergraduate student at ASU, Kierra Atterberry, was also “unaware that the program

was a thing or that it was being relocated.”

“I think it should have always been on campus,” Atterberry said.

Once again, students brought up the practicality of the department having residency at ASUPD.
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“It makes it way more convenient for ASU students to get the support they need,” Atterberry

said.

Atterberry agrees with fellow student Bender that more victims are likely to come forward now.

“I think more people will come forward now that the process feels more safe and confidential,”

Atterberry said.

She also said that she has hopes for a brighter future with the repositioning of this resource.

“I think now with the relocation of this department, ASU will do a better job supporting victims.

But, I also think that people just don’t know about the support options ASU offers,” Atterberry

said.

With the relocation of the Victim Advocacy program in full swing, students are eager for victims

to have a more pleasant and convenient experience.

“Going through something traumatizing like that causes enough stress. Having to then muster up

the courage to waltz into the police station and be questioned like you were the one that did

something wrong is probably scary to a lot of survivors,” Atterberry said.

Will victims at ASU feel more comfortable asking for help now that the support has been moved

to home-base?

Students and faculty hope that this relocation will have a positive effect on the college and that

survivors will have a place to receive the support they need.