Students attending the "Justice for Jane" protest Monday in Union Square demanded change and shared the core message of the protest, which was to create a space of support for victims of sexual assault. Approximately 35 students attended the protest and held signs and wrote notes to administration and survivors of sexual assault.
The “Justice for Jane” protest was held yesterday by URGE in Union Square and attracted around 35 students. Students held signs and wrote anonymous notes to the administration and to other survivors.
“President Garrett, prove students are more important,” read one of the notes to administration. “Do more than a slap on the wrist.”
The protest came in response to The Bulletin stories about a ESU sexual misconduct investigation in which “Jane,” an undergraduate Korean student, alleged that Brian Schrader, tenured psychology professor, took her into a storage room, touched her inappropriately and tried to kiss her.
Jane told The Bulletin that she watched the protest from a distance and said she felt thankful for everyone there supporting her. While she feels stronger than ever before, she still does not want people to know her identity.
“If people knew it was me, I could not go to school anymore,” Jane said.
Representatives from THRIVE, a campus program that seeks to reduce sexual violence and empower individuals to engage in healthy relationships, and SOS, a community organization that advocates for those affected by sexual and domestic violence, were also at the event.
“I just want to share our core message, which is we want to create a space of support for all victims of sexual assault, not just on campus but in our community and also to create a space of accountability, for the student body, for the administration, for everybody that is involved in this because it is all on us,” said Abigaile Weiser, president of URGE and junior sociology major. “Let’s just try to create an environment that promotes change and wellness for survivors.”
Among the notes to administration were things that said “Silence is a stance,” “Fire Brian Schrader,” “Don’t make us watch our backs on this campus. Protect us” and “Administration must act.”
The notes to the survivors read things like “I believe you,” “You are not alone. You are strong. You matter” and “The students hear you. The students believe you. We want change.”