AKL fraternity requests SAVE training
ALANNA WOLF-ARMSTRONG Staff Writer
Meghann Kosman, left, victim advocate for the Children and Family Center of Northwest Missouri; Johnny Looram, vice president of the Northwest Missouri State University chapter of Alpha Kappa Lambda; Connor Raabe, AKL risk management chair; and Maryville Public Safety Officer Sarah Kahmann have teamed up to bring Kosman’s and Kahmann’s Sexual Assault and Violence Education presentation to local AKL members.
The Sexual Assault and Violence Education initiative founded by local Victim Advocate Meghann Kosman and Maryville Public Safety Officer Sarah Kahmann will break new ground next week when the two women provide SAVE training to a Northwest Missouri State University fraternity chapter for the first time.
Kosman and Kahmann have partnered with the men of Alpha Kappa Lambda fraternity to bring SAVE to the Maryville campus.
“I volunteer at the Children and Family Center of Northwest Missouri,” said AKL vice president Johnny Looram, “and after talking to Meghann about Greek life and sexual assault at Northwest and SAVE, and after talking to my fraternity’s risk management chair, we thought it would be a good idea to invite Sarah and Meghann to speak to the fraternity and share their message.”
Looram added: “This isn’t only in response to recent events of sexual assault. We want to educate the guys in our fraternity and throw off some of the stigma that is associated with Greek life.
“We want to partner with SAVE to show that we are good people, and that we are not those negative stereotypes.”
Kahmann said the opportunity to offer SAVE training on campus is welcome.
“Through our collaboration with these guys Meghann and I have learned so much about Greek life that we never knew before,” she said. “These guys have had great questions about how to handle certain situations and be supportive of their brothers in a positive way.”
Kosman called the AKL invitation “a great chance for us to get our message out there and start a conversation about sexual assault.”
The men of Alpha Kappa Lambda have long been active in efforts to reduce occurrences of sexual assault and relationship violence, having taken part in the It’s On US and NO MORE campaigns and the creation of a “promise wall” each semester on the Northwest campus.
At the promise wall, people donate $1 and leave behind a handprint as a pledge that their hands will not be raised against others.
It’s On Us focuses on sexual assault awareness and prevention on college campuses and urges a shift in the way sexual assaults are viewed by better defining such crimes and identifying situations in which third parties should step in.
NO MORE is an effort to raise public awareness about sexual assault by eliminating the stigma sometimes attached to such attacks.
NO MORE also seeks to highlight various myths that help place blame on survivors while allowing perpetrators to evade accountability.
“Our chapter has been involved in the IT’S ON US campaign for about a year now, and we are dedicated to spreading the message about stopping sexual assault across campus,” said Connor Raabe, AKL’s risk management chair.
“We publicize the IT’S ON US movement, and 90 percent of the money we earn from the fundraiser we do for that campaign gets donated back to the Children and Family Center.”
While pop culture often portrays fraternity and sorority members as engaging in risky sex and binge drinking — activities frequently linked to sexual assault and related crimes — Kahmann said cliches don’t tell the real story.
“I don’t think that it’s so much partying that leads to the sexual assault per se, but more so it’s the freedom of college life and not taking personal responsibility for one’s actions,” Kahmann said.
“Parties are not going to stop, and that why our program advocates for personal responsibility. The more we educate the population, the more people that see this presentation and this information, if they’re in a situation at a party, they’re going to have in the back of their mind the definition of consent, and they’re going to know how to safely and properly handle certain situations.”
While Raabe and Looram recognize that the topic of sexual assault is an uncomfortable one for many people, they say they are passionate about bringing the SAVE presentation to the Northwest campus and educating their fellow Alpha Kappa Lambda members.
“I don’t think a single one of our members would ever even think to disagree with bringing SAVE to campus,” Raabe said.
“They’ve all been very supportive,” added Looram.
“Sexual assault is often looked at as an icky, dark topic that nobody wants to talk about,” Kosman said. “We’re surrounded with an attitude of ‘We don’t talk about that.’ It’s great that these guys are taking it upon themselves to get the message of our program out there. We couldn’t be happier or more proud of them for doing that.”
“It is going to be uncomfortable to talk about sexual assault, but if you’re not uncomfortable talking about it then you’re not talking about it the right way,” Raabe said. “Just because it’s uncomfortable doesn’t mean we need to not talk about it.
“It’s something that needs to be addressed and needs to be brought to the public because there are all these myths that surround sexual assault, and believing all these myths is doing nobody a favor. It just makes it even harder to stop it.”
Kosman and Kahmann will deliver their SAVE presentation to AKL beginning at 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 25, in room 2550 of the Garrett Strong Science Building. The session is open to the public.
