Editor’s Note: This story includes mentions of sexual violence.
More than 100 students gathered Friday evening at the intersection of North Jordan Avenue and North Fee Lane to protest reoccurring sexual violence at IU.
Representatives at Zeta Beta Tau said they organized the walkout to raise awareness about sexual violence, according to a GroupMe message obtained by the IDS. The fraternity’s president Jesse Rosenberg said he asked participants not to speak to the media.
The walkout took place less than a week after IU Police Department reported a sexual assault and battery that took place at a different fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi, Sunday.
In a long line, the participants walked on the sidewalk down North Jordan Avenue. IUPD officers in two vehicles followed the students, telling them to stay off the road and helping them cross the street.
After about half an hour, the participants reached East Law Lane and turned around. The line of protesters slowly got smaller as the students returned to their fraternity houses.
Isaac Baker, a member of Alpha Kappa Lambda, said the goal of the protest was to increase awareness about sexual assaults at IU.
“Sexual assault is becoming a real issue on campus,” Baker said. “I hope this will accomplish getting the word out that we are against it and getting it into people’s minds to get the status quo reversed.”
IUPD has reported 16 sexual assaults and 13 sexual batteries since the start of the fall semester, according to its daily crime log. The department found 22 campus sexual assaults throughout 2020.
