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BLOG: Otterbein's "Don't Be A Zebra" campaign sends wrong message

Otterbein360 welcomes students to submit guest blog posts in response to stories or campus matters you find to be relevant. Email your blog post ideas to webeditor@otterbein360.com. The following blog was submitted by Carrie Coisman.  

Otterbein’s recent “Don’t Be A Zebra” campaign began as early as New Student Week with Otterbein Police Chief Larry Banaszak giving his annual “No One Gets Hurt” speech to the first year students. His tagline is further reinforced by Otterbein’s relatively low crime rate and high satisfaction in terms of student safety and wellness. At least on paper.

However, this campaign, despite its good intentions from both the Office of Student Wellness and the Otterbein Police Department, circles around a metaphor of a herd of zebras standing strong against a predatory, hungry, and villainous lion that has come to take one of their own. The zebras, presumably bystanding students, prevail in protecting their counterpart, a vulnerable and presumably drunk woman, against the aggression of the lion, a predatory male rapist. While the message that is trying to be sent is one of empowerment, the message that is received is one of victim blame and shame.

“Don’t Be a Zebra” focuses solely on the zebras, both victim and bystanders, as responsible for the outcome of the lion’s attack. What it does not address is the fault of the perpetrator in incidents of sexual assault.

Otterbein is in a moment of evolution and change regarding the university’s response to sexual violence. The “Don’t Be a Zebra” campaign was an attempt at a jump-start, especially for the first-year students. The good intent was there; the execution was irresponsible.

Before Otterbein became institutionally invested in the issue of sexual violence, Otterbein students and faculty had always worked to change Otterbein’s sexual culture. Peer driven and formulated programs like Team Consent and the Women and Gender Resource Center are manifestations of that effort.

Due to Otterbein’s size, gender ratio, and alcohol policy, our sexual relationships and party scenes look different than other institutions. Students are afraid to report crimes of sexual violence to the Otterbein Police Department, which is another goal underlined in the campaign, due to the lack of a concrete, accessible, and understood alcohol amnesty policy. Crimes are not reported to Otterbein Police Department and therefore the statistics concerning sexual violence on campus cannot be accurate. Any campaign, any attempt to change the sexual culture and crimes of sexual violence on campus will be hindered by the institution’s refusal to make that information accessible to students.

Students do appreciate the effort that Otterbein, the Office of Wellness, and the Otterbein Police Department are putting into reducing sexual violence on campus. However, more care needs to put into what the students’ needs are, how students will perceive the information presented to them, and ensuring their needs will be met without further criminalization of the bystanders and the victim.


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