Marquette Student Government’s meeting Thursday opened with a presentation on behalf of Sexual Violence and Advocacy Services through Student Health Services. Sue Cooper, coordinator of Sexual Violence and Advocacy Services, and Chris Daood, assistant director of the Counseling Center, led the discussion.

The university believes that all students should be exposed to the sexual assault learning programs and presentations in reaction to the negative media attention surrounding campus last spring, Daood said.

Some members of the class of 2015 have taken the 75-minute “Student Success,” an online sexual assault awareness program.

“We are especially targeting first-year students because that provides a longevity of information and awareness on our campus,” Daood said.

Marquette’s steps to combat sexual assault on campus seem advanced, Cooper said.

“We found that we are extremely ahead of other institutions regarding policy and procedure,” Cooper said.

To inform students, Student Success educates students through video clips and statistically-based powerpoint slides, Cooper said.

But many students, like Jenna Wallander, a sophomore in the College of Nursing, feel that the online program is an unrealistic portrayal of certain situations.

Cooper and Daood acknowledged the backlash regarding these depictions, and said they wish more students would make an effort to critique the program for future improvements.

To close the presentation, Cooper and Daood cited the Department of Public Safety as a campus-wide resource to either report crimes or receive mentoring for sexual assault victims on campus.

However, Cooper said that once students report a sexual assault to DPS, the department is lawfully obliged to tell the Milwaukee Police Department.

Should victims of sexual assault wish to discuss their experience, Cooper said Marquette offers confidential resources such as Campus Ministry, Campus Hall Ministers in the dormitories and the Sexual Assault Treatment Center at the Aurora Sinai hospital.

Although confidential sources may be preferred for many victims of sexual assault, Cooper and Daood urge students to report crimes to DPS.

Issues with academic advising were also discussed at the meeting. MUSG President Joey Ciccone, a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences, said discussions regarding advising are still under way.

“I know a lot of students have been unhappy with the advising situation on campus,” Ciccone said.

Ciccone plans on meeting with former associate provost for faculty development the Rev. John Fitzgibbons to discuss advising and address students’ worries regarding the issue.

Ciccone also announced that the university and MUSG are in discussion with the Wisconsin state government regarding a ruling on the eligibility of out-of-state voters.

In the future, out-of-state voters may be able to use Marquette identification along with a proper signature and other government forms as sufficient evidence for voting. The ruling is still developing, he said.

Sterling Hardaway, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences on the Student Organizations Committee, said that in the coming weeks, MUSG’s goal is to have every student organization on campus create a website separate from the university’s.

Hardaway said the program will hopefully be ready by this spring.

SIDEBAR:

President Joey Ciccone said all senate seats have now been filled.

Katie Simoncic, a senior in the College of Communication, was elected as the new president pro tempore  of MUSG.

Evan Umpir, a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences, was unanimously elected as the Residential Budget Committee member on the platform of spending Marquette students’ money “most efficiently.”

Mallory Daily, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, and Senator Natasha Hansen, a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences, were elected to serve on the Residential Student Organization Funding Committee.

The VOID Lip-sync applications for student organizations are due Oct. 14 to the MUSG office in the Alumni Memorial Union.