Panthers Against Sexual Assault (PASA) has been an active student organization on the University of Milwaukee-campus for about “four to five years,” said current PASA President, Elizabeth Julius.
As her first year as president, Julius hopes to expand the organization’s online presence and encourage people, especially men, to take an interest in PASA; “It would be really great to have a core membership of men. They would have interesting input and a lot to learn as well from the organization.”
Nevertheless, the organization’s primary objective is to continue to educate students on different resources available to them in the event that something occurs. PASA emphasizes the importance of students having resources here at UWM and resources within the community as a whole that can help them if needed.
“Overall, I think PASA is mainly about advocating for survivors of sexual assault; making sure they feel as though UWM as a campus is still their own, they still have a right to feel safe here and that they have a community that is here to support them and validate them.”
Currently, the organization is working on a series of infographics detailing resources at UWM. Its contents review campus safety and confidentiality. It helps advise students about who to go to in the event that a sexual assault occurs, as well as what is confidential, what isn’t, and what to do if you want to seek further help outside of the university.
In the past, PASA has participated in events during Sexual Assault Awareness Month. For instance, they have assisted in the Take Back the Night event hosted by the Women’s Resource Center and usually play a considerable role in organizing the march itself. In addition, PASA participated in the Student Safety Conference last year in the fall. The event had a group of speakers, a combination of campus leaders and faculty discussing a little bit about issues with campus safety.
The event “gave students a space where they could talk a little about what things happening on campus were making them feel unsafe and what we could do to advocate on their behalf to the university to hopefully improve some of those things.” For example, some of the recommendations mentioned were quicker BOSS wait times and better lighting on campus. The organization used this information to create a Student Safety Manifesto gathering information on what was making students feel unsafe on campus and presenting that to the administration. Although, unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, that was cut short.
Their meetings occur remotely at this time and are bi-weekly on Saturdays at 10 a.m. However, they do other activities to engage their members and to get to know one another better. Julius discussed an event where the members would be decorating jack-o-lanterns for the Halloween season.
They continue to welcome all members, victims and survivors alike, and to create a safe space for discussions for anyone interested. To get involved or for further information, email Elizabeth Julius at ehjulius@uwm.edu, or directly contact the PASA email at pasa-uwm@uwm.edu.