Leaders of the fraternity and sorority community at San Diego State University unveiled plans Monday for all members to receive sexual assault awareness training, less than a month after several fraternity members harassed marchers trying to call attention to the problem.
The fraternity members yelled obscenities, waved sex toys and threw eggs at the "Take Back the Night" marchers. Leaders of the Greek community suspended activities at fraternities and sororities after the incident and said Monday that they will not be resumed until the plan to address the topic is implemented.
"Sexual violence on our campus has affected too many people," said Marc Hess, president of the Interfraternity Council. "We recognize we can play a significant role in putting an end to it. These steps we are taking will not solve the issue on their own. But we hope they will be a positive influence on the culture and safety of our campus."
All Greeks will be required to take online courses called "Agents of Change" on sexual violence as part of the plan, which also includes a week of presentations on the topic and the showing of a film on masculinity.
A week-long series of sexual violence prevention programming is also in the works, as are educational events like "Walk a Mile in Her Shoes" and another "Take Back the Night."
Associated Students President J. Cole said it's a good first step.
"This is a first step in our part of what we hope will become a much larger discussion and effort on our campus to address this issue," he said. "We know there are a lot of people already engaged and focused on eliminating sexual violence at SDSU. Our hope is that the steps the Greek community is taking will help bring our community together and push all of those efforts forward."
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Thirteen sexual assaults have been reported to SDSU officials since the start of the semester. Of those 13, nine were classified as rape, three as oral copulation and one as sexual penetration.
Police data shows seven incidents happened at fraternities. Only one suspect, an SDSU student, has been arrested in connection with the alleged assaults.
