TRITON Magazine Fall 2018 | Page 11

Mark Anderberg , a senior in urban studies and planning , said he got a call from the center immediately after he reported that a professor at a German university had inappropriately touched him and offered sex while he was studying abroad earlier this year .
The encounter , he said , had left him traumatized and fearful . The counselor offered empathy , help day or night and gave Anderberg information about his rights .
“ I felt very cared for ,” he said , adding that “ it ’ s important people know it can happen to men as well .”
Chloe Wohlenberg , a freshman in chemistry , said the practical tips she learned in the center ’ s presentation during orientation taught her how to help not just herself but also others .
One example : If someone at a party seems too drunk to be able to agree to a sexual encounter , interrupt and gently guide the person away .
“ It was super helpful ,” Wohlenberg said , as she dabbed paint on the pot for her succulent with UC colors of yellow and blue . “ People are really afraid to do something .”
Wohlenberg , who says she ’ s never been assaulted , wears an alarm on her lanyard and says all her roommates carry pepper spray . She hopes to be a volunteer at the center next year .
IN 1979 , two staff members in UC San Diego ’ s student life and residential offices broke new ground on the campus when they began printing up information about safety and pushing for better campus lighting .
By 1987 , a groundbreaking national study sparked a furor by documenting widespread date rape on college campuses , belying perceptions that strangers committed most sexual assaults . Wahlig was hired the next year to launch the campus center , which at first was just her in a space the size of a closet .
Today , the center has six professional staff , a graduate assistant , and nine student interns and volunteers .
In 2016-17 , they served 184 clients , held educational programs for more than 16,000 people , and trained nearly 1,200 staff , faculty and student workers in ways to prevent sexual assault .
The center ’ s expansive offices are soundproofed , with reflective glass windows for privacy . The color scheme is soothing teal and tan , with a starfish theme because some of the marine invertebrates can regrow limbs and regenerate .
The center ’ s approach is grounded in the work of Alan D . Berkowitz , a psychologist who , by focusing on men ’ s responsibilities , helped turn around assumptions that rape was a women ’ s issue . He promoted positive , inclusive and empowering practices , Wahlig said — a sharp contrast to giving women a long list of don ’ ts : don ’ t drink , don ’ t walk home alone .
Wahlig and her team used Berkowitz ’ s work to modify behavior with positive messages . In one project , they did a survey of male students , and the vast majority said they would stop sexual overtures if their partners objected to them . The team plastered that finding on posters all over campus — an approach known as “ social norms ,” which has proven effective , Wahlig said , because most students want to conform .
The center also pioneered prevention techniques that have become common practice . In skits , they demonstrated bystander intervention — modeling how to interrupt potentially risky encounters , distract the instigators and help get peers to safety .
In the fall of 2014 , UC President Janet Napolitano announced a sweeping plan to combat sexual misconduct . The plan had been developed by a task force , which called on every UC campus to open an advocacy office called CARE , which stands for Campus , Advocacy , Resources and Education . Wahlig ’ s center — officially called CARE at SARC — already was following many of the guidelines . These days , it ’ s not just about protecting the victim , it ’ s

We ’ re like a rocket , and we ’ re just about to take off . There ’ s so much momentum to change the culture , and it ’ s not quieting down .”

— NANCY WAHLIG , CAMPUS ADVOCATE
about fostering a feeling of “ community responsibility ,” said Jessica Heredia , the center ’ s assistant director .
With the support of public and private grants , her team puts on a variety of educational programs . One workshop on stalking , called “ Cute or Creepy ?,” sparked lively conversations about how to react to someone who sends you 100 texts in an hour .
“ Cosplay and Consent ,” pegged to San Diego ’ s annual Comic-Con , worked on breaking down false assumptions that dressing up in sexy costumes — to be Wonder Woman , for example — was like giving people invitations to grope . For many survivors , what matters most is the personal counseling .
Esther Kim ’ 12 found Wahlig and the center after she was sexually assaulted in an off-campus attack in 2007 . She was a junior at the time . Her grades plunged . She dropped out of school . She resisted counseling for a year . But she said Wahlig eventually won her over with compassion and candor — telling her that she would never completely heal but that she could get better . After three years of therapy , Kim managed to graduate . She is now married , with a daughter .
“ I couldn ’ t have gotten there without Nancy and SARC ,” Kim said . “ It ’ s having someone there just to support me .”
Learn more about CARE at SARC at tritonmag . com / SARC
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