“I’ve never really gotten over it,” Hill said.

Hill said she was not comfortable talking about her past until she came to Central Michigan University.

During her freshman orientation, she saw a “No Zebras, No Excuses” presentation. She approached Sexual Aggression Peer Advocates afterward.

“They said that I wasn’t ready and I needed to be OK with myself first,” Hill said.

SAPA is a campus organization that focuses on helping students who have encountered sexual violence.

As a survivor, Hill wanted to join. She waited until her sophomore year to apply and was accepted as a member of SAPA.

The first thing Hill learned as a member was to always believe the caller. She said one out of every 1,000 calls is a lie.

“I have not had 1,000 phone calls, so I know I have never been lied to before,” she said.

Hill said SAPA gave her an outlet to become more educated and become aware of how to educate others.

SAPA Adviser Stephen Thompson wants to stress the severity of sexual and domestic violence.

“It needs to be emphasized that this does occur,” Thompson said. “Violence in relationships is very present.”

SAPA receives more than 300 calls every school year. Only 20 to 25 of those calls are because of partner violence.

“We need to educate people because it does happen and people can help,” Hill said.

Thompson said 30 out of every 100 reports are assaults from strangers. Less than 1 percent of reported assaults are from someone the victims know.

Thompson said most crimes that occur are silenced because many victims are afraid to speak up.

One out of every five relationships are violent Thompson said.

Larry Tifft, sociology, anthropology and social work professor, asks his students if they are equal in their intimate relationships.

“The first time I ever asked, no one raised their hands,” he said.

Tifft said violence in relationships largely revolves around power and traditionally gender ideals get in the way: The male is more aggressive, while females are more submissive.

“You’re not going to reveal your innermost thoughts if you know someone is going to use them against you,” he said.

Clare senior Lisa Zelinski said media also have an effect on relationships.

“It’s a stereotype that women are emotional and men are to support, to protect and not share their feelings,” Zelinski said. “This pushes men to bottle up feelings that can lead to aggression.”

Psychology professor George Ronan said no matter what the medium, it is affecting men’s behavior.

“It’s modeled and supported on TV and in society,” Ronan said.

Tifft said violence has been largely accepted and normalized in society. He said we don’t, as a culture, teach people how to solve disputes.

SAPA aims at being a resource to students who have encountered abuse or are in abusive relationships.

The majority of the calls received are from victims who were abused years ago, Thompson said.

“We need to, as a college, come together to ask why it happens and what we can do to prevent it from occurring on campus,” he said. “Prevention is needed because right now we’re dealing with the end results.”

Zelinski said CMU has taken a step in the right direction by putting on diversifying their programs.

“I think the college needs to promote more activities that are sponsored by SAPA,” she said.

Tifft said battering comes in degrees and is a process. He said it is important to recognize when someone is trying to control who you spend time with and what you do.

Lisa Zelinski said victims of violence could be ignoring the signs because they don’t want to admit it is happening.

Hill said she hopes SAPA will expand to support other educational programs. The Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transsexual (GLBT) community really needs to be reached out to as well, she said

SAPA is an amazing asset to the campus, Hill said. She has been a member for three years.

Many students who are victims of violence may not be emotionally prepared to find help, Hill said.

“If you’re afraid or not ready, that’s fine,” she said. “We’ll be here when you are”

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