Since the #YourMoveSEU movement began last semester at St. Edward’s, students and administration have been brainstorming ways to implement change for the new year.

The movement was sparked by a comment from now graduated Sydney Pegram on marketing material posted to the St. Edward’s Instagram account. Attention to this comment led to many speaking out on Twitter, where junior Lauren Louk created the hashtag #YourMoveSEU. 

“I noticed an ongoing trend of my friends bringing up how they’ve dealt with serious issues on campus such as sexual misconduct. I couldn’t leave without speaking up and bringing light to these issues,” Pegram described.

Following the forum held in December, new initiatives have sprung up around campus. Louk is working with the Office of Campus Safety to head SafeWalkSEU.

“Safewalk is a student led escort program. Volunteers will come pick you up and take you where you need to go on campus. It’ll run from 7 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., seven days a week,” Louk said.

Louk expressed that the organization still needs student volunteers to sign up using this link: bit.ly/VolunteerSafeWalkSEU. 

SGA President Leslie Rios explained that after the forum, a #YourMoveSEU workgroup has formed, consisting of members from SGA, It’s On Us, the Vice President of Student Affairs Lisa Kirkpatrick, Dean of Students Steven Pinkenburg and others.

“The workgroup is planning another forum, which will present all of these updates, along with the emails being sent out to the student body,” Rios said. 

SGA is also involved in Campus Safety Walks, in which faculty members walk alongside students to identify areas on campus which may look unsafe. Some additional lighting has already been added by the softball field. The next campus safety walk will be Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. Any student can join, and they will be meeting at the seal. 

Another resource for students is the Health and Counseling Center (HCC). Director of the HCC, Vanessa Pena, described some new offerings.

“Our “I Can’t Do Anything Right” group [is] counseling concerning relationships with highly critical parents/families. We are also offering our Survivors’ Circle group, aimed at providing a safe/supportive space to survivors of sexual violence,” Pena said. 

Pena explained that for more information, students can email [email protected] or drop by the HCC during business hours. 

Jim Morris, Associate VP of University Operations, explained the university’s goal of making students more comfortable with UPD.

“Events like ‘coffee with a cop,’ and some other outreach will be happening soon. The Office of Campus Safety also offers trainings for situational awareness, protection, and emergency situations,” Morris said. 

Morris urged students to take advantage of the resources offered to them, such as the Topper Safe app, SEU Safety Alerts and SEU Safety on Facebook and Twitter. 

“I hope and expect that we can continue to work together to make SEU a stronger place to work, live and play,” Morris said. 

Louk called students to action with a final statement, “I want all these programs to show people they have a right to feel safe. I’m sorry that some people didn’t have a great experience, but we can change that for others. Use your voice, volunteer and make a difference.”