News > August 30, 2007

By Molly Nevola | Staff writer

In 1987, news of an alleged rape on campus spread through the university and caused students to take action, establishing the first group on campus with a mission to promote understanding and prevention of rape and sexual assault.

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Juniors Daniel Patten and Tara Tedrow lead PREPARE talks for freshmen. The group intends to educate students about rape. (Sophie Mullinax/Old Gold & Black)

PREPARE, Policy Group on Rape Education, Prevention and Response, is made up of about 60 students from diverse backgrounds and groups on campus who share a common goal of safety for students.

The harsh reality is that 20-25 percent of women will be raped during their college career.

About 65 percent of all sexual assault cases will go unreported.

This is a statistic that has made sexual assault the “silent epidemic,” according to the American Association of University Women.

To combat this nationally growing issue and its staggering statistics, PREPARE here at the university is equipped with well-trained student advocates, a small group within the organization.

These advocates have received additional training on helping victims of sexual assault.

The advocates can be reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week by cell phone.

They are available to talk to victims, accompany victims to Student Health or the local hospital or answer any question, however big or small, regarding sexual assault.

Each member of PREPARE has been extensively educated in a class that specifically covers rape and sexual assault.

They have all also been trained to run the first year student presentations given during orientation each year.

These presentations consist of facts and statistics, a review of the university’s sexual misconduct policy and discussion on advice to give to a friend who has been assaulted.

All university students should be aware of the continuous service that PREPARE can provide.

To make accessibility more available to all students, the group recently switched from a pager to a cell phone. The cell phone number is (336) 671-7075.

“PREPARE student advocates want to help Wake Forest students in any way possible so students should not hesitate to call under any circumstances even if they have just a small question,” Lizzy Bell, one of the senior co-chairs of PREPARE, said.

Bell said that she first joined PREPARE as a freshman because she found that it provided her with an effective way to give back to the university community.

Bell said that the group is a great way for both men and women to get together and actually do something about such an important issue.

There are still many misconceptions about the topics that PREPARE deals with, Bell said.

“It is so important to be aware of the prevalence of sexual assault in our community … I hope that we make a difference on campus and that as PREPARE grows, we are able to reach out to more and more students,” Bell said.

Sharon Babcock, the other senior co-chair of PREPARE, said that she joined the student group as a freshman after she was immediately drawn to the organization during the orientation program.

Babcock said that since rape and sexual assault are such major problems on college campuses, the only way to decrease the number of attacks is through education: informing the student body of statistics and teaching them how to prevent an attack or to help a friend in the case of assault.

“It has been a great way for me to get deeply and passionately involved with an organization and a cause that I feel so strongly about,” Babcock said.

The group is also in charge of Tie a Yellow Ribbon Week.

Tie a Yellow Ribbon Week is an annual sexual assault awareness week held in February that includes several events such as a documentary viewing, a rape wall exhibit outside of the Pit and the annual Speakout.

The Speakout is a powerful event because it allows the Wake Forest community to come together and share personal experiences of sexual assault.

It also gives students the opportunity to speak out against rape, and support victims and survivors.

Any student interested in joining PREPARE should look out for flyers during the fall that will note application deadlines.

The application process consists of a paper application and interview.

All admitted students will take the 1.5 hour women’s and gender studies course in the spring semester.

They will then be in charge of the presentations during orientation next fall.

Finally, new members will have the opportunity to join the executive board or become an advocate.

More information about the organization can be found at PREPARE’s Web site, http://groups.wfu.edu/prepare.

Any questions, comments or suggestions for the organzation should be directed to senior Lizzy Bell at beller4@wfu.edu.