How One University Uses New-Student Orientation to Talk About Sexual Assault
A young woman sways under flashing strobe lights and thumping music, her eyes bloodshot, clearly intoxicated. A man, about the same age, begins dancing with her and kissing her. She weakly tries to push him away. Eventually, he leads her to her apartment, pulls her into her bedroom, and shuts the door. He begins taking her clothes off, and the scene ends. The scenario leading up to a rape occurs during a short film that was shown to University of Richmond freshmen and transfer students on Friday night during orientation for new students. The session focused on bystander intervention, training students on how to step in when they see signs of a potential assault. In the video, friends and witnesses look concerned when they see the young man and woman interacting, but they take no action.