By Andrea Bilton
Through powerful visuals and captivating personal experiences, a group of sexual assault survivors stood in front of an intimate group of Hofstra students and faculty to facilitate a panel about the importance of Title IX awareness.
Ella Fairon, Jada Smith and siblings Charlie and Daisy Coleman, four of the five “SafeBAE” cofounders, travel to middle school, high school and college campuses nationwide to emphasize the importance of publicizing Title IX rights in school systems everywhere. The four were also featured in the Netflix documentary “Audrie & Daisy,” which chronicled multiple stories of sexual assault and the fight for justice against their school systems.
The event was sponsored by various clubs and organizations at Hofstra, including the It’s On Us committee, Center for “Race,” Culture, and Social Justice, Student Advocacy and Prevention Awareness and the Title IX Office for Student Issues, among others.
“Our goal is to change schools’ culture,” Fairon said. “Most kids in middle school and high school have no idea what Title IX is and no idea what their rights are, and we want to change that.”
“We also want to emphasize the importance of consent,” Smith said. “Being drunk is not consent, and it’s so important that people know that.”
The group uses catchy video content to spread their influence throughout social media, and middle and high schools can purchase their own video curriculum to truly teach their student body the truth about Title IX and sexual assault rights.
SafeBAE’s efforts to publicize the issue of sexual assault have been increasing rapidly, and they are now instituting new initiatives to make a difference in school systems. Middle school and high school students are encouraged to start “SafeBAE Squads” at their respective schools, where they can work to spread the word about Title IX rights and influence sexual assault culture. They have also started a “BAE Breaker” initiative, where students can apply to take on a larger role by working directly with the members of SafeBAE themselves.
SafeBAE travels to colleges in order to state their case and inspire college students to bring the SafeBAE program back to their alma maters.
“How many of you have siblings or close friends still in high school?” asked Charlie Coleman. Every hand was raised. “See? Think about how many schools could be affected right there.”
But the four asserted that if schools did not adhere to their curriculum, they will still spread the word via social media.
“Middle school and high school students need to know this stuff,” Fairon said. “And if their school won’t teach them, then we’ll teach them ourselves through social media.”
“I think it’s learning about how you can change what you think – it’s learning about how to get people involved, and it should be an inclusive conversation,” said graduate student Megan Meyerback when asked about SafeBAE’s initiative. “It’s important to be an advocate for people who have been assaulted, because so many people don’t have that.”
Students who are interested in learning more about SafeBAE and their goals should visit safebae.org, where they will gain access to SafeBAE’s various social media campaigns and learn more about their newest programs.