A $29,928 “It’s On Us” grant has been awarded to Pennsylvania College of Technology to prevent, address and respond effectively to sexual violence.

Penn College, one of 39 institutions to receive funding from Gov. Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Department of Education, applied for a grant to establish programs ranging from campus-wide training to institutional campaigns to raise awareness and understanding of the reporting process and resources available to and rights of sexual-assault survivors.

“Penn College already has a very extensive and supportive system in place for students who experience sexual violence and/or sexual misconduct,” said Mallory L. Weymer, coordinator of student health and wellness education/suicide prevention specialist. “The ‘It’s on Us’ grant will allow us to expand our existing programs, and take them to the next level by educating all students, athletes and Greek Life in the role of community, accountability and prevention against sexual assault.”

The Governor’s It’s On Us PA Grant Program, launched in January 2016, aims to support postsecondary institutions’ efforts to create campus environments in which all community members are informed, active bystanders working together to end sexual violence, and where survivors are able to access the rights, resources and accommodations afforded to them through state and federal law.

“We are very excited to have the opportunity to widen our reach and engage students through a more personal and
specialized outreach,” Weymer said.

Among the initiatives planned for the 2018-19 academic year is an expansion of the “Yards for Yeardley” event, a local observance of a national effort in support of healthy relationships and bystander intervention. College students and employees walked a combined 1,019,533 yards along the campus mall in April, honoring Yeardley Love, a University of Virginia lacrosse player fatally beaten by her ex-boyfriend in 2010.

“We are also going to overhaul our current bystander-intervention campaign that is introduced to all incoming students during Connections (the college’s comprehensive orientation program), and again through trainings offered in the First Year Experience course,” Weymer said. “Several new training curriculums, documentaries and a new Campus Clarity online training will be introduced, as well.”

She said Penn College is also working to bring a former NFL athlete to campus for a large-scale event focused on “healthy masculinity, community and the role each of us has creating a culture change.”

For more about Penn College, a national leader in applied technology education, visit www.pct.edu, email admissions@pct.edu or call toll-free 800-367-9222.