Cal Poly wants to get a better understanding of health and safety issues impacting students.
With Us – The National Network for Peer Accountability at Cal Poly launched a new survey on Wednesday. The goal is to help public universities in the state understand student perceptions, experiences, and bystander intervention on issues including sexual assault and intimate partner violence, hate, bias, discrimination, hazing, and abuse of alcohol and drugs.
The results from the first-year pilot study will be used to establish a baseline of college students’ attitudes, motivations, and behavior. The information will then be used to develop safety and wellness programming at public university campuses. Eventually, the survey will be expanded to universities across the nation.
"This invaluable study will shine a critical light on ways we can make campuses safer for students," said Keith Humphrey, Cal Poly’s vice president for student affairs. "This information will inform important decisions being made on behalf of students and help us assess the impact of our work."
All of the student replies will be anonymous, and the data will be specific to each campus participating in the survey.
The organization With Us is overseeing the survey. The organization is led by a team of researchers, prevention practitioners, and student affairs leaders within Cal Poly Student Affairs. Scott and Julia Starkey founded Aware Awake Alive in 2011, after their son died in a hazing incident at a Cal Poly fraternity. The Starkeys donated the program to Cal Poly in 2017, and With Us – The National Network for Peer Accountability was launched in 2018.
