Columbia Daily Tribune - McCaskill talks sexual assault education, prevention at MU summit

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By: Ashley Jost

Claire McCaskill does not miss an opportunity to return to her alma mater, especially when it's to discuss an issue the University of Missouri has dealt with publicly and that she personally has taken before the Senate.

Missouri's Democratic U.S. senator visited MU on Saturday to talk about sexual assaults on college campuses. Her speech and the question-and-answer session that followed were part of a summit led by MU student government.

The summit was organized by the Missouri Student Association and was part of the group's ongoing "It's On Us" campaign to educate the community and prevent sexual assaults on campus.

MSA President Payton Head said student leaders from universities across the state were invited to attend, but none was able to make the event except MU and Stephens College. The summit included two breakout sessions: a policy discussion with Ellen Eardley, MU's new Title IX administrator, and a session with peer educators from the Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Center to talk about media representation of sexual assault issues. McCaskill's speech closed the summit.

A number of MU student leaders attended the summit, including members of the university's Graduate Professional Council and representatives from Greek life.

"Our campus Green Dot bystander prevention program has the saying that, "No one has to do everything, but everyone can do something,' " Head said. "This was "something' on behalf of MSA. We can start getting to work even more now that we're more educated."

McCaskill lauded conference organizers and attendees, but she also thanked administrators for taking steps during the year to tackle the shortcomings identified by an independent counsel's investigation after the alleged rape of former MU swimmer Sasha Menu Courey.

McCaskill commended leadership in MU athletics and said her most proud moment of the athletic program was the dismissal of former star football player Dorial Green-Beckham. Green-Beckham was dismissed last April because, among other things, he was dealing with allegations that he pushed a woman down a flight of stairs.

Events like that show progress that has been made, McCaskill said. But her biggest messages were about the importance of educating students on how to intervene in situations that could lead to assaults.

"When you get to be my age, and maybe even your age, you think to yourself, "Can I make a difference?' " McCaskill said. "Don't miss that opportunity. When you're in a place that you can make a difference, do it, and you'll feel good about it the rest of your life."

She also stressed the importance of education across the student body about the process when a Title IX violation occurs -- a main charge for the incoming Title IX administrator. McCaskill said the more information victims have, the more empowered and confident they are to understand their options to move forward against the accused."This is a momentous time in this country, as people are beginning to understand this has been a dirty little secret in higher education for a long, long time," McCaskill said.

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