Last week, there was a report of a high school student in California being physically and sexually assaulted.

Five people were arrested for their alleged involvement. The authorities stated: “As people announced over time that this was going on, more people came to see, and some actually participated.”

It was estimated that as many as 20 students witnessed this assault and did nothing.

Why didn’t anyone do anything to stop this or report it to the police? Why wasn’t anyone looking out for this woman? The behavior of the assailants is reprehensible; the behavior of the bystanders who did nothing is a serious concern.

I truly hope that members of the Central Michigan University community would demonstrate a very different level of concern and involvement if they witnessed an assault.

When I first arrived at CMU, the university was described as “big enough to matter, small enough to care.”

It was an accurate statement about the size of the institution and the concern which people regularly demonstrated toward one another. I think this still describes us.

A few years later, Steve Thompson, Director of Sexual Aggression Services, developed the program “No Zebras,” which conveys the importance of not being a bystander and deliberately doing something when someone else is being harmed or making decisions which might place one at risk. This program is attended by all students as part of the Campus and Community Life Orientation program.

In 2005, we started a “Take Care” effort to promote an atmosphere of caring throughout the university community.

Steve Tait, Class of 2006, wrote, “We will act to encourage a lifestyle in which we take care of ourselves and the person next to us. We strive to be the helping hand in any situation in which others need support.”

We talk about taking care of one another quite a bit at Central, more than most universities do.

We encourage people to be aware of those around them and the situations they are in.

We make people aware of the resources available to them (e.g., CMU Police, Residence Life Staff, Sexual Aggression Services, Counseling Center, Health Services). We advocate that people take action when they see a need arise.

We hope people recognize that as a members of the CMU community they have the right, indeed the duty, to look out for one another and to get assistance when it is needed.

CMU is “big enough to matter, and small enough to care”.

We do CARE about one another.

We do LOOK OUT for one another.

Bruce Roscoe,
Dean of Students

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