Ten years ago, Associate Physical Education and Sport Professor Stephen Thompson and Dean of Students Bruce Roscoe had a vision.

Their vision was to establish a registered student organization at CMU that could address the issue of sexual aggression and tackle it with force.

Little did they know that force would be immeasurable.

Sexual Aggression Peer Advocates at CMU is celebrating its 10-year anniversary this month.

For 10 years this RSO has helped change the lives of countless numbers of students who have had to deal with the always difficult topic of sexual aggression.

It can be extremely difficult for people to come forward if they have fallen victim to an act of sexual violence. It’s a crime that, in most cases, demeans people and lowers their self esteem. Think about it: Victims in college are away from their parents and are in a foreign land. They don’t know anybody. They become scared and have nowhere to turn.

But when SAPA was introduced in 1997, it gave those vulnerable students a chance. A chance to talk with people their age. A chance to cry on a shoulder and vent their frustrations, instead of bottling all the anger and bad memories up for years.

But most importantly, it’s a chance to catch the cowardly people who commit these disgraceful acts.

Now, 10 years later, SAPA has grown, not only at CMU, but in other schools across the nation. Universities are using SAPA as a basis to form their own programs, and to help their own students.

Anyone who has ever been involved with SAPA, in the past or currently, needs to be commended for the awesome work they do every day.

Keep the vision alive.

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