Groups could do more than just talk

During the last three weeks, Pitt hosted three forums on campus safety and sexual assault…. During the last three weeks, Pitt hosted three forums on campus safety and sexual assault. Another is scheduled for Monday.In light of recent events on campus, it is of course appropriate to address such concerns. Forums, however, are not the most effective way to affect change.

The first forum, held Oct. 16, attracted about 60 students. Originally billed as a forum on intolerance, the discussion quickly shifted to campus safety. The second, on Oct. 28, drew 50 students, mostly women. On Nov. 4, about 10 women attended a forum featuring the same guest speaker as the previous one, Holly Opatick of Pittsburgh Action Against Rape.

These patterns speak for themselves. Fewer and fewer people are bothering to attend, and no men are attending at all. The forums are not presenting any new information, and telling 10 women “No means no” again isn’t going to prevent anyone from being assaulted.

No one is attacking the organizers of the forums. They are to be commended for their efforts, but the time and money spent to pull together these talk sessions could be put to far greater use. Why don’t the different organizations that have held the forums form a coalition, pool their funds and make some actual changes? Install more blue-light phones. Extend Van Call’s boundaries. Pay the Pitt police more. Reinstate the peer escort system Pitt used to offer.

These forums, while certainly well-intentioned, are proving to be exercises in rhetoric. The notions of not walking home alone, not leaving drinks unattended and scheduling dates in public places are not news to students anymore.

The Oakland Planning and Development Corp. has the right idea. Members of OPDC have formed a coalition, the Oakland Business Improvement District, set as a partnership between public and private sector organizations that work together and contribute their own money to increase cleanliness and safety in the given region. Of course, the organizations stand to gain financially from cleaning up Oakland, but that is irrelevant. There are no wrong reasons for increasing safety via intercommunication and pooling of resources.

Concerned groups across campus need to communicate with one another. Perhaps if the groups behind all the forums had been in touch, they could have combined their resources to hold one large, well-publicized event that would have attracted a greater number of more diverse students. Then they could remain in touch and form networks of support to bring about real change.