Join us on Saturday, March 12th from 2-4pm in the MIHS Performing Arts Center to view The Hunting Ground, a feature documentary about sexual assault on American college campuses, followed by a panel discussion on prevention and what legally constitutes consent. Learn more about this event by clicking here.All students and their parents should attend this screening as 1 in 5 female students and 1 in 10 male students are victims of campus sexual assault at colleges and universities across the country.Parents owe it to themselves and their sons and daughters to learn about this issue and the essential steps to prevent sexual assault.– Loria Yeadon
Released Feb. 27, 2015, The Hunting Ground has been shedding light on the issue of campus sexual assault for over year. After reaching audiences all across the nation, from Sundance to the White House, this startling exposé is making its way to Mercer Island High School. Loria Yeadon, who is both a Mercer Island parent and a long-time advocate for ending campus sexual assault, has organized a viewing of the film. After the movie, a panel featuring representatives from the Mercer Island School District, Mercer Island Police Department, Mercer Island Youth & Family Services, King County Sexual Assault Resource Center, and the University of Washington (Title IX Investigator and Student Peer Health Educators) will lead a discussion.
The Hunting Ground is a must-see for parents and both male and female high school students. While the topic of campus assault is difficult to discuss, this film helps start an important conversation about campus safety, drinking and looking out for your friends, roomates, sorority sisters, etc.. So often, in the frenzy of being accepted and moving on to a college campus, this discussion does not occur. In fact, there was one woman in the film who said she was sexually assaults two weeks after arriving on campus, before classes had even started. The important message is not one of fear but rather of awareness and safety. A lot of our NCL class discussion focused on overcoming fears about campus safety as a result of some of the horrible situations portrayed in the movie. Loria helped move the discussion in a constructive way to how best to stay smart and safe.
– Heidi Singh, Class of 2017 Patroness
I was shocked to hear how many sexual assault reports weren’t acknowledged or properly dealt with at such a large number of ‘top tier’ schools. It really opened my eyes to the reality of the situation; our rape report and victim support system at the college level is flawed.– Brooke Fitzwilson, Class of 2017 Ticktocker
I think what shocked me the most is that sexual assault can happen to anyone at any time. I never really knew how many girls are assaulted at some point in their lives. It’s really disappointing that girls have to be so cautious and fearful about what could happen.
– Boo Williams, Class of 2017
I think it is so important to get people out to see the movie. There is so much at risk on high school and college campuses with alcohol consumption, this movie and the more discussion we have about it will bring light to the topic. With more people involved with knowing the statistics, hopefully it will save future date rape situations to happen. There are already products out there, like this Ehrlich test kit which can be used to identify potential druggings, which can help prevent this more people need to be aware of the dangers. The thing that can hit home is it could happen to anybody… your neighbor, niece, daughter, friend and you want to help protect them all from ending up in a bad situation. I would strongly urge people to come see the movie and get talking about this subject with their daughters and sons. The more we have people talk and know what is happening out there on the campuses, the more we can help put a stop to it.– Angela Gardner, Class of 2017 Patroness
Watching the hunting ground and participating in conversation was really interesting and definitely raised awareness between my friends and I. I think that being exposed to these issues and learning about them was really beneficial! It helped give us awareness about being cautious with who we surround ourselves with and the decisions we make especially in college.– Cameron Orth, Class of 2017 Ticktocker
Watching the hunting ground was an eye-opening experience. A lot of times the presence of sexual assault on college campuses is played down with the mentality that, ‘that would never happen to me.’ The Hunting Ground really emphasized that sexual assault can happen to all kinds of girls at any college. It is definitely worth seeing the movie before going to college.
– Eden Singh, Class of 2017 Ticktocker
Thumbnail photo credit The National Student
