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It's On Us. – Vintage Blue Originals 004

 

Cassidy Slater is a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill from West Windsor, New Jersey, and is pursuing majors in political science and French.

Trigger Warning: Sexual Assault

Halfway through high school, Cassidy Slater moved from New Jersey to Charlotte. This move was especially difficult because in the midst of all the changes inherent to the high school experience, Cassidy had to readjust. She had gone to public school for as long as she could remember, but had to break into a small, tight-knit Catholic school in the Charlotte area.

“If a lot of people share a background and you’re coming in as different than that, it makes you feel at a distance from people,” said Slater.

When it was time to apply for university, Cassidy yearned to be a part of something again. After the move, so much of her life had been about readjusting that she sought to have a strong identification with the university and its greater community. Upon being accepted to UNC, the decision to attend felt natural.

“UNC felt like a place that reflected my values better… I had very strong opinions in high school, and felt that that was not always valued. At UNC, I felt like people would appreciate my opinions. I was excited to get involved on campus, and be more authentic than I was in high school,” said Slater.

Cassidy said that as a student coming to UNC, the new opportunities were exciting, but that it is nearly impossible to prepare oneself for how prevalent sexual assault and violence can be on college campuses. Shortly after starting at UNC, Cassidy experienced sexual assault.

As she sought to understand her experience, Cassidy found that she was not alone.

“I leaned on people in my circle and I realized that I had my story, and a lot of other people had their stories. It wasn’t just me; it was an epidemic.”

The following year, Cassidy became the service chair of her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma. Like her predecessors, she inherited a variety of events. Though these typically remain the same from year to year, Cassidy felt a strong desire to refocus her sorority’s sexual assault awareness event “Walk a Mile.”

When it came time to plan this event, Cassidy alongside Sami Lachgar and Amogh Sharma, who were members of Sigma Phi fraternity, decided to go further than merely refocusing the event. They decided to completely redesign it because “Walk a Mile” had good intentions, but not good execution. Months before the event, Sami called Cassidy, and said that they could completely rebrand their philanthropic venture as “It’s On Us.”  Though a national initiative, “It’s On Us” became a uniquely UNC event, where the community would come together and address sexual violence.

“The cool thing about ‘It’s On Us’ is that it takes conversations that are already happening between people, and brings them out into this public space. It involves people who might not ever have to talk about [sexual assault]. It shifts the burden from survivors to the entire community,” said Slater.

The goal of the event is to do just this: affirm that it is on all of us to eradicate sexual assault by fostering conversations with the community, as people share the things they learned and discussed at “It’s On Us.” The event was an instant success.

“My most vivid memory is my sophomore year at the event. When I got there I had this moment when I saw all these people assembled at the event, and had given up their time to be there,” Cassidy discussed, as she begun to see the event as someone who survived sexual assault, “It was this real moment where I could reclaim my community. I felt like UNC was a place where people support me and embrace me. I was so in awe that this was a thing that people were committed and excited to do,” said Slater.

From its founding in the spring of 2016, Cassidy has been actively involved in every aspect of the event. She has found that it has continuously improved through the years because of the passion and vigor her fellow organizers bring to the table. Cassidy has been committed to this cause because she hopes to change what we consider culturally appropriate, and wants to show those around her that there are steps that can be taken by anyone to be an active bystander. Most of all, Cassidy loves the ripple effect this event has created.

“I’m really grateful to have been a part of it. I spent a lot of time in the aftermath of dealing with assault thinking about how if I had altered my actions in someway, I could have avoided the scenario… I can’t go back and change my experience, but a much bigger part of my [college] experience has been working with people who are really committed to addressing sexual assault, and working with people who are really committed to uplifting survivors,” said Slater.

Cassidy is thankful for how “It’s On Us” has allowed her to reclaim her community, stating that she will remember it over anything that had happened beforehand.

This seemingly “crazy idea,” conjured up by three philanthropy chairs, has fomented this important conversation on UNC’s campus. While change in culture is very slow, Cassidy believes that students are doing their part to rectify these systems as “It’s On Us” is entirely student-led – without any administrative assistance.

As her final year at UNC comes to a close, Cassidy has begun the process of handing off this event to a new group of organizers. While she is a bit jealous that they get to continue working on this special event, she is confident that they will continue to improve on this foundation, and contribute new perspectives and stories. “It’s On Us” will surely continue to evolve and expand for years to come.

“UNC embraces people’s ideas and initiatives. It’s a place that has changed and evolved with the students who are here. You can follow whatever your passion is, surround yourself with other students who are passionate about similar things. From that collaboration comes these amazing events and moment. I love UNC, but I have grown to love it a lot more because of what I have seen it become," said Slater.

Written and Edited by: Kenny Barone and Rodrigo Bustamante