The “I Got Your Back” Campus Safety Week at the University of Idaho rolls around every September. It is a week students know well by the end of their tenure at UI.
Campus Safety Week, dedicated to educating students, faculty and staff about the ways in which we can all help one another stay safe, originated from one of the UI community’s more well-known tragedies — Katy Benoit’s death.
It’s been seven years. For most undergraduate students, this name doesn’t ring so loud a bell. For other university community members who have been around longer, Katy Benoit is more than just a name on a bench on the southeast side of the Administration Building or the subject of a yearly safety forum.
In 2011, Benoit, a UI graduate student, was killed by associate professor Ernesto Bustamante outside her Moscow home. The two had entered a relationship together in the months prior.
Benoit ended her relationship with the professor after he threatened her with a gun on several occasions. About 3 months later, Benoit was shot on her front porch.
Interpersonal violence is no abnormality on college campuses across the United States. As the #METOO movement grows, it isn’t hard to find a daily headline addressing the concerns of sexual violence and sexual harassment within universities.
Thankfully, weeks like “I Got Your Back” and gatherings like the Take Back the Night rally and Katie Benoit Forum begin to address the problems facing college students. It is up to them to take that information and use it.
However, discussing interpersonal violence is no easy subject to pursue with a professional or even friends.
According to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 57 percent of college students say it is difficult to identify dating abuse and interpersonal violence. Nearly 58 percent of college students say they don’t know how to help someone who is experiencing dating abuse or interpersonal violence.
Still, these statistics can change. With continued education and information that doesn’t skirt around the indicators of sexual violence or even the events of a tragedy, students can truly have each other’s back.
The first Campus Safety Week was held on the one-year anniversary of Benoit’s death. Six years later, students are becoming more aware of what can lead to violence and how to help prevent it in the first place.
A week turns into a month. A month turns into a year. A year turns into continued work toward a safer, healthier campus community.
Just as we take the week each year to remember Benoit’s life, we should aim to relentlessly learn a bit more about the indicators of interpersonal violence, not just once a year, but every chance we get.
— HS