Students are turning to video in an effort to increase awareness about Syracuse University’s “Got Consent?” campaign for sexual violence prevention.

The Office of Health Promotion has teamed up with Hill Communications, a student-run public relations firm, and Andy Robinson, a television, radio and film professor, to revamp SU’s “Got Consent?” sexual violence prevention program.

“Last semester, we conducted research to see if campus knew about ‘Got Consent?’ but they didn’t so we wanted to capitalize on the fact that people are kind of paying attention to sexual assault more these days and relaunch the campaign,” said Samantha Berenstein, a senior public relations major and the account manager at Hill Communications.

In an attempt to rebrand the “Got Consent” program, Hill Communications created a new slogan: “Be SU.R.E.” to accompany the original title. The letters stand for shared understanding, respect and enthusiasm­­ — all things necessary for consensual sex as stated by the Office of Health Promotion. The letters S and U are bolded and stand together as a tie-in back to the Syracuse University campus.

As a way to further the reach and effects of the campaign, Robinson, who is also the General Manager at Orange Television Network, reached out to Hill Communications and offered up his skills to create a series of public service announcements that encourage open dialogue about sexual consent, the first of which launched on April 1.

While Robinson did feel that his video skills could be used to help the campaign, his main motivation behind offering up assistance was much more personal than that.

“First of all, I have two daughters. They both go to school here, so it’s very much top of the mind for me,” Robinson said. “Second, I’m just a big believer in the power of video to tell a story and I thought that it was really the right thing to do for us as the student television network to be a part of that.”

The first PSA features a group of kids asking a series of everyday questions, like “What did you do last night?” and ends with the question: “Do you want to have sex?”

Berenstein said the whole idea behind ending the PSA on such a blunt note is to portray asking for consent as just another everyday question.

“The idea of this PSA and then the next PSA is more SU relatability,” Berenstein said. “The whole idea of these is to make them timeless; the issue isn’t going to go away any time soon.”

Robinson said he would like to see universities across the country adopting the basic message of SU’s “Got Consent?” campaign and tailoring it to fit their own students.

The PSAs will be posted to the campaign’s Facebook page and the Office of Health Promotion’s Twitter account, as well as be broadcasted on the Orange Television Network. The next PSA is due for release around the time of MayFest.

“What happens to students who are subjected to violence is a life-changing event, and if we can get a message out to students to behave in a way that’s appropriate, it could have a life-changing impact for somebody,” Robinson said.

Published on April 5, 2015 at 9:41 pm

Contact Brigid: brkenned@syr.edu