With the recent plague of sexual abuse scandals sweeping across the nation’s college campuses, it is no wonder that notable celebrities are starting a campaign asking people to take a pledge to stop sexual violence. The statistics are staggering: while in college, one in five women will either be raped or have someone attempt to rape her.

While colleges, out of necessity, have taken initiative to stop sexual violence on campus, the questions still remain: why is this happening and how can we inform youth sooner about the problems involved with sexual violence?

To prevent harmful behaviors in the future and educate people on how to recognize dangerous situations, the nation has turned to high school students. In order to stop problematic behaviors in students who are bombarded in a “blurred lines” culture with media that portrays sexual objectification as normal, education about sexual violence needs to start before students reach college.

On a typical Monday night, the topic was brought to the student council’s attention by none other than Ms. Allison Marsland. With deep reflection, the student council asked how we, as the Williston community, could play a part in helping our students be educated about sexual violence. As it stands, the Williston Upper School has no formal sexual education program. By the time our students leave the boundaries of campus and go off to college, it is necessary that they be prepared for the increasing challenges they may face in regard to sexual violence at college.

With the minds of student council at work, some possible ideas quickly sprang up. Whether it be through a student run program, formal curriculum, or workshop situation in which UMASS experts could come and speak, we were all in agreement that our students needed to be educated about the issues, and that our proctors and leaders needed to be trained to help in these situations.

So what do you think? What is the best way that we as Williston can educate our students on sexual violence? Feel free to bring your thoughts to the table through a faculty member or student council member or proctor.

It is on us, as a community, to know that multiple people on this campus, statistically speaking, will have to face or maybe even survive sexual violence once they go off to college. However, with proper precautions in place, Williston can make a small step in turning that one in five statistic to zero.