CHICAGO — Four years ago this month, Karen Harris’ daughter was beginning her freshman year at Marquette University.
Navigating college life and in the thick of the “red zone” — the time period between the start of the school year and Thanksgiving break when girls are more likely to become victims of sexual assault — Harris’ daughter attended a party hosted by athletes at the university.
That’s where Harris said her daughter was drugged and sexually assaulted, allegedly by four athletes. Despite reporting the alleged assault to campus police, no one was ever charged with a crime, said Harris, of suburban Deerfield.
“The school screwed her over, and this stubborn girl of mine said, ‘I’m graduating from this school come hell or high water,’ and she did,” said Harris, whose daughter graduated in May and is now “gainfully employed” in Milwaukee.
Now, as the mother of a survivor, Harris is getting behind College Bound Safe and Sound — a campus sexual assault and crime prevention program started by two Chicago police officers this year.
“It has always baffled me that there isn’t something out there like this to keep my kids safe,” said Harris, who attended one of the officers’ first programs at the north suburban Highland Park Recreation Center this summer.
Jackie Kostek says the officers offer tips for freshman that universities won't:
Jack Shilney and Josh Weitzman, who both have decades of law enforcement experience with the Chicago Police Department, started College Bound Safe and Sound to give high school and college-age students the tools they need “to be proactive with their own personal safety.”
“Being a policeman, I know the danger,” said Shilney, who has taught tactical training to other police officers for the last 10 years.
Shilney said the program tackles the major campus “dangers” including sexual assault, date rape, drugs and alcohol, dorm safety and what to do if a shooter is on campus.
Shilney said the focus of the program is educating young men and women about campus sexual assault, which he said often involves drugs and alcohol.
“I’m not naive to the fact that college students drink when they’re not supposed to,” said Shilney, “but we tell them, 'Don’t drink the punch.'”
The “punch” — served at many college house parties — typically has a higher alcohol content than beer or wine, Shilney said.
“Hold your drink, give it to a friend if you have to go to the bathroom,” said Shilney.
“If you went to college, you know what happens,” said Josh Weitzman, who co-founded the program with Shilney. “The question is, can we prepare them? Some kids don’t have a clue.”
Weitzman said he hopes students walk away from the program with a greater awareness of what’s going on around them.
“We can’t teach you how to be a black belt in karate in two hours,” said Weitzman. “It's more about, ‘Take your headphones off and be aware of your surroundings.’”
For now, Shilney and Weitzman are reaching out to high schools — both public and private, in the city and suburbs — and local universities. They will be presenting multiple times at Kendall College beginning this month and are in talks with Bradley University in Peoria. Shilney said they would like to present at every college in Chicago, including DePaul, Loyola, the University of Illinois at Chicago and University of Chicago, which is currently being investigated by the federal government for its handling of sexual assault cases.
So far, high schools seem to be more receptive to the program than colleges, Shilney said
“We’re bringing people in to talk about something that’s an issue, and maybe they’re a little nervous,” Shilney said about colleges. “The school might be like, ‘We don’t want that to happen, we don’t want this to happen.’”
Although presenting at college campuses is a goal of the program, both Shilney and Weitzman agree speaking to high school students offers a unique opportunity to educate students before they’re ever on their own.
“We want to just make them so aware before they even get to college rather than it being too late,” Shilney said.
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