This past week, College Humor joined up with the “It’s On Us” campaign to make an important statement about sexual assault. The video is titled “What If Bears Killed One in Five People?” and addresses an extremely important issue facing America today: disregarding the statistic of one in five women being sexually assaulted in college each year.
Of course, College Humor puts their classic spin on the issue in making the video comedic, but at the same time, they do an incredible job of getting their point across.
In the video, sexual assault is compared to an "angry, hungry bear" who only kills one out of five people, and with five men in the room, there's a sense of panic amongst all but one. The one guy in the room, whose home the bear is in, chooses to ignore the problem because, the way he sees it, it's "less than a quarter chance" that one of them is eaten. He admits that the problem isn't just going to go away but because he doesn't know what to do, he just chooses to do nothing at all.
Unfortunately, this is the mindset of too many people in the world today. People choose to turn their backs on the issue because it's "just something that happens," and it's easier to ignore than stand up and say something. The video highlights the ignorance in these excuses and the fact that this is not a problem to be swept under the rug in the hope that it will resolve itself.
"It's On Us" is a campaign that was launched in 2014, the main objective of which is to educate and alter the way people think about sexual assault. In addition to over 80 partners, the campaign works with colleges all over the country in an effort to inspire a new way of approaching the situation. Their main message is that, "It's on us to realize we have a responsibility in preventing sexual assault," which is exactly what this video states. We all need to find our voices and take a stand, because the effect is much greater than we think. Not only are one in five women assaulted, but one in 16 men will also be assaulted in college.
Even worse, more than 90 percent of rape victims never report their assault and if the victim was incapacitated, the percentage is even higher. There is no reason why we should be living in a world where things like this happen. Ignoring the problem will not make it go away, taking action will.
Although sexual assault is not a joke and should never be taken lightly, College Humor found a tasteful way to address a serious issue. The video is meant to point out the obvious problem we face in a way that will make people pay attention. It's unfortunate that these measures need to be taken in order to evoke a reaction, but if it works, one day, we could be living in a world where no one is eaten by angry, hungry bears.
If you would like to know more about "It's On Us," you can make a pledge or donate to the cause on their website.
