Sexual assault awareness for female CU Boulder students spreads on social media

Many factors play into the safety of female students at the University of Colorado Boulder. When it comes to nightlife, fraternity parties on the Hill are a main attraction. And there are multiple platforms that promote the entertainment of CU, but when it comes to sexual assault or any serious threat to female students at these parties or social events, how is the word spread around? 

A 2016 report from the CU Boulder Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance shows that 28% of undergraduate females are sexually assaulted “… with 90% of assaults being committed by someone the victim knows.”

According to the statistics, many women at CU have experienced some type of sexual assault or feelings of danger especially while partying.

CUBuffsChicks is a social media account that’s affiliated with Barstool Sports—a media organization with connections to colleges nationwide—and that reports on the social scene at CU. Although the main, national account is known for its controversial posts, many students rely on these accounts for the spread of news. 

The CUBuffsChicks Instagram account is run solely by female students, for female students. This account is highly trusted by the CU community, and students say this is partly due to the lack of information the school actually provides. 

Both women who run CUBuffsChicks asked to stay anonymous, but they were open to discussing their roles and experiences with The Bold. 

The women said they’re obligated to create a light and entertaining platform for the craziness that is the CU Boulder social life. When it comes to serious allegations and concerns from students at the school, how do they use their platform?

“I wouldn’t say we do it enough—we do it to the best of our abilities. The other day, we got a DM about some guy who’s been charged with sexual assault … and because of our rules, we can’t necessarily post it until it’s public,” said one of the account owners.

CUBuffsChicks and BarstoolBuffs have agreed to follow certain rules around what information they can and can’t share to the CU community, especially for safety and legal reasons. The owners of the two Instagram accounts have created a system for making these tough calls. And although they have these regulations, these media outlets are known widely throughout campus to be more trustworthy than the CU Alert system.

“It says in our [contract] that we have to be updated with what’s going on on campus. So if it becomes a bigger thing that everyone is DMing us about, that’s kinda when we start being like, OK, this is something we should be paying attention to,” said the other account owner.

Regarding the CU Alert system, Andrew Sorensen, CU’s Spokesperson for Strategic Media Relations, said community members are notified of events according to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act – also known as the Clery Act – which requires timely and transparent warnings about certain crimes, including sexual violence.

However, he emphasized that the school has “a duty to disseminate only factual and verified information in concert with public safety entities,” and that there are cases where law enforcement or local news media may have more up-to-date information on emerging events off-campus.

According to Sorensen, the university sends alerts when there are “confirmed immediate threats” such as natural disasters, active harmers, inclement weather and other safety concerns on campus. He said the school uses campus newsletters and social media to communicate “non-immediate threats.”

Meanwhile, influencers like CUBuffsChicks rely on students to determine what is important and trending in the area.

“A lot of people would send in their own resources and be like, ‘Hey! This is also a resource girls can use’… having people also help contribute to spreading information themselves, like DMing us, is so helpful,”

Many resources such as suicide hotlines, abuse hotlines, and sexual assualt resources are shared through the CUBuffsChicks account on Instagram. And because it is run by women, they tend to share resources more targeted to protecting the women of CU. 

Taylor Levine, a sophomore female student at CU Boulder currently completing her degree in the College of Media, Communication and Information, couldn’t agree more.

“A lot of the stuff we find out about is literally through YikYak or CUBuffsChicks and BarstoolBuffs accounts on Instagram, not even the school. It really keeps me aware when I go out and party with friends.”

The university, on the other hand, believes that it does more than enough to protect all CU students. When asked if the school believes it does enough to spread awareness, Sorensen replied:

“CU Boulder routinely shares information to educate our community, provides education about preventing sexual misconduct…shares resources and support services through various communication channels, including social media and CU Boulder Today.” 

Sorensen also clarified that many federal privacy laws prevent the university from discussing specific cases publicly. 

Nevertheless, he emphasized that community members are subject to the school’s sexual misconduct policies both on and off campus, and said the school responds to reports of misconduct either way.

“Our community should know that we take allegations of sexual assault seriously, and those found responsible are held accountable,” Sorensen wrote in an email. 

Furthermore, he said the school offers resources, support and advocacy to community members affected by these incidents, and that sexual misconduct allegations are referred to the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance (OIEC) for investigation. 

While the university and CUBuffsChicks have said that they do all they can to spread awareness, female students, in particular, rely on others in the CU community for protection.

“We’re only two people out of 30,000 … the fact that all these people from different backgrounds, genders, and races care about this, they wanna help us help everyone else, is key,” said one of the owners of CUBuffsChicks. 

Anyone in the campus community who wishes to report sexual misconduct can visit OIEC’s website, call 303-492-2127 or email cureport@colorado.edu. For support, counseling and advocacy, the Office of Victim Assistance (OVA) can be reached via their website, at 303-492-8855 or assist@colorado.edu.

If you have information on a crime, you are also encouraged to report it to the police.