Navigating Support
Story by Darcie Zudell
Design by Ellie Sabatino
With the semester being kicked into full gear, there is no wrong way for students to enjoy their time back at Ohio University. Despite everything seemingly happening at once, It remains hard to disregard the strong sense of anticipation that accompanies those first few months into each new school year. The anticipation to party. In 2015, Playboy Magazine crowned OU the top “party school” in the nation. Though over the years, OU has slipped in the rankings, the school’s reputation lingers on. The OU faculty is not oblivious to the reputation. Incoming freshmen are required to complete online training aimed at educating students about the dangers that can accompany drinking too much.
With this, new students are also educated briefly on understanding consent during Bobcat Student Orientation. At the OU Involvement Fair, various campus groups had tables at the event. Some of these groups are dedicated to promoting student safety and support. Grace Jarchow, a junior majoring in sociology, is the current Vice President of the new student organization PAVE, which stands for Promoting Awareness - Victim Empowerment. Jarchow was eager to get involved with the organization when she found out a chapter of the national non-profit was starting on campus. At the student involvement fair, members of the group handed out information about a concept known as “the red zone.” The phrase was coined by Dr. David Lisak, a clinical psychologist, who specializes in researching rape prevention programs on college campuses.
“The red zone is basically the time period when the semester starts to like around Thanksgiving break … when most [sexual assault] cases are reported on campus,” Jarchow says.
Jarchow suggests that the mix of the warm weather, back-to-school excitement and excessive drinking calls for a higher risk of danger. A former student at OU, Abigail, whose name is changed to protect her identity, reflects on her welcome week experience at OU.
While on Mill Street, notorious for hosting many OU house parties, she recounts feeling uneasy.
“I felt like it was really predatory toward freshmen,” she says. She also recalls thinking, “You don't want to drink too much because this is the week where seniors are gonna try to prowl.”
She observed a greater focus on the nightlife Athens had to offer, with less attention given to academic excitement.
Abigail admits that welcome week set a harmful precedent for her academic year. “It was all about partying, and I feel like that made me get caught up in it really easily,” she says.
Though OU offers various school-sanctioned events during Welcome Week, some students use their newfound freedom to make choices they would not typically make. Throughout the two semesters Abigail spent on campus, she noticed a shift from the excitement and fun of nightlife to a new awareness of predatory behavior. She notes that she grew up in a “tight knit” community her whole life. Behaviors and attitudes that would never occur in her hometown, she says, were normalized in Athens. She was often advised to steer clear of specific fraternity houses to minimize potential risks. Concerns about open containers and questionable hosts led her to frequent the numerous bars on Court Street.
he unpleasantries and perceived predatory behavior did not end at the bars.
She claims to have found herself noticing a difference in the mixed drinks she received from male and female bartending. “Whenever a girl would make your drink, you could tell that she made it right,” Abigail says.
She also says that if she thought male bartender wanted to make conversation with her, her drink would taste as if it had more alcohol in it.
She also recounts certain men who offered to buy her a drink requesting it be made stronger.
Kelsey P. Younce's master's thesis, titled “Attractiveness Privilege: The Unearned Advantages of Physical Attractiveness,” discusses the phenomenon known as “pretty privilege.”
“Numerous studies demonstrate that people who are judged as more physically attractive are consistently perceived more positively and treated more favorably than people who are considered less attractive,” according to Younce.
When Abigail was allowed into bars without her ID being checked or when certain store owners would give her free or discounted items, she became familiar with the term.
When recounting the “favors” given to her while on campus, she notes the same uneasy feeling she had on Mill Street.
“I would get the most gut-wrenching anxiety from it and then, I would just, over time, think about it more,” Abigail says. “Why am I feeling like this? Then you realize, maybe I was taken advantage of a couple of times.”
Abigail alleges that the privilege of being perceived as attractive resulted in stalking, manipulation, and coercion. Abigail also says one owner of an Athens business showered her and her friends with free products. He also allegedly developed an obsession with her.
She recalls him pleading with her to return to the store for additional benefits. When she didn't respond, he purportedly went searching for her on Court Street and even showed up unannounced at her residence hall.
She recounts having moments on campus where she longed for a female support network that would validate her feelings about this behavior.
She observes that the group she typically went out with would tolerate this mistreatment in exchange for free products and access to bars. In turn, she also put up with the mistreatment until her discomfort provoked her to break the cycle. Abigail admits she had no knowledge of how to report sexual abuse on campus. She also feared if she did seek out support, it would come with judgment. She did not want to draw attention to herself. Jarchow affirms that this is a key reason why victims of sexual assault or sexually charged abuse goes unreported. “I think that that can be really scary,” Jarchow says. “Just from the simple fact of having to give names or recite the event itself. I think that can be traumatic and definitely turn a lot of people away.”
Jarchow also says that reporting should be handled with care and confidentiality. The reaction and potential backlash from concerned peers often discourage many survivors from seeking help. PAVE aims to be not only a source of emotional support but also a resource that survivors can use to seek justice, grieve and build a support network. “My biggest piece of advice that I would give, would probably be it's not your fault,” says Jarchow. “Women are constantly being poked and prodded at … but at the end of the day, there's no good or valid reason for sexual abuse happening.” Students who want to get involved with PAVE or speak to a member are welcome to attend their bi-weekly meetings on Wednesdays in Bentley 145 at 6:00 p.m. The organization’s Instagram page can be found @pave_ou. Abigail is no longer a student at OU. She felt leaving campus would be the best solution for her to move on from the experiences that occurred. “Always trust your gut,” she says. “Your intuition knows better than anyone else. And surround yourself with people who actually care about you.”