2011-12 Campus Action Project Teams
The 2011–12 Campus Action Project (CAP) grant program focuses on the issues raised by AAUW's research report, Crossing the Line: Sexual Harassment at School.
This year AAUW granted funds to seven campus-based teams to implement recommendations from the research report in their communities during the spring of 2012.
1. Dakota State University (South Dakota)
The Dakota State University (DSU) CAP team will create a project that uses the special abilities of DSU students in drama, digital storytelling, and new media to develop and deliver a half-day workshop for area middle and high school students and educators to increase their awareness of the incidence of sexual harassment in schools and to explore and practice ways of dealing with it.
2. Jefferson Community College (New York)
In collaboration with local students, the CAP team at Jefferson Community College will develop a 30-minute film to addresses the issue of sexual harassment in grades 7–12. Through interviews with students, educators, and parents, the film will raise awareness of the issue of sexual harassment and provide a platform for discussion on best practices and tools to use to prevent and stop harassment. The film will be premiered as a part of a daylong conference on bully culture coordinated by AAUW of New York's District 7 to be held at Jefferson Community College on March 3, 2012. Conference attendees will include students, educators, parents, and members of community organizations that serve youth.
3. Millersville University (Pennsylvania)
The anti-sexual harassment project of the Millersville University CAP team will include focus group research on a diverse group of urban students in grades 7–10, a collection of personal stories to be shared on a blog, a community and university event on the issues of sexual harassment and cyber-bullying that will be open to the local community with special invitations extended to educators and parents, and the creation of a documentary about the activities, which will be shown at the event.
4. Pacific Lutheran University (Washington)
The Pacific Lutheran University CAP team members will collaborate with girls in local middle and high schools to create a poster campaign, informational brochure, and website to raise awareness about the problem of sexual harassment in schools. The team's student members will conduct focus groups with girls in order to identify their experiences and ideas for action around this issue. These focus groups will help determine the content of the awareness campaign, as each element will feature quotes from the girls themselves as well as statistics from AAUW's research report, local resources, and suggestions for activism.
5. St. Mary's College (Indiana)
At St. Mary's College the CAP team will develop "Use Your Voice," an educational, interactive, 60-minute afterschool workshop for students in South Bend public high schools. This workshop will address the issue of sexual harassment in schools and include a writing session that will allow students to use their voice to share their thoughts on the topic in a journal or book. The CAP team will also work with the students to create a plan of action for how to address and deal with sexual harassment. The workshop will be presented to first-year high school students at each of the four South Bend public high schools.
6. University of Central Florida (Florida)
Through their CAP grant, the University of Central Florida (UCF) Young Women Leaders Program will address sexual harassment as part of their mentoring program with local middle schools. They will plan and implement specific leadership-skill-building lessons during the mentoring sessions, and the middle school girls will develop a plan for addressing sexual harassment and bullying in their schools. With the help of their collegiate mentors, the girls will hold a workshop at UCF for other public school students to talk about sexual harassment and how to effectively address it.
7. University of Kentucky (Kentucky)
The University of Kentucky CAP team will focus on sexual harassment at local high schools. During early 2012, they will survey students at schools and host several focus groups to learn about the issue. Then in the spring, they will use the data to inform a Sexual Harassment Carnival, where students will have a range of fun, interactive ways to become educated on the identification and prevention of and intervention in sexual harassment. This all-day event will feature games, lectures, plays, and panels related to sexual harassment. In addition, the survey, focus group, and carnival will be a precursor to developing a sexual harassment victims' advocacy group for public high schools in the Bluegrass Region.