The MFJS Reporter — Winter 2020 M-W

“I think [this page] has given a platform for everyone, not just women, to share their stories and be honest,” said Olivia Coker, a University of Denver senior and avid Instagram user.

This account allows survivors to share their stories anonymously with the hope of getting the attention of the DU administration and others to put an end to the violence.

The quickest way to distribute information among young college-aged individuals is to use social media. @wecandubetter harnesses this asset when trying to grab the attention of students with detailed stories about troubling assaults taking place in the community.

 “DU should take this account and these stories seriously and begin to implement change that protects its students,” noted Coker.

DU students are pressing for change because according to DU Campus Climate Survey retrieved from 2018-2019, 52% of undergraduate students identify as being a survivor of gender violence or knowing someone that is a survivor. Additionally, this percentage increases to 68% when asking this question to members of Greek Life on campus.

Thousands of posts are released every minute on Instagram with a diversity of content. In the past, much of Instagram’s content gave insight into the glorified aspects of an individual’s life but now it has transformed into being a location for controversial discourse as well.

A current junior with 1,736 followers on instagram, Yasmin Raz speaks highly of @wecandubetter. She said she hopes that the account can set a precedent for action by DU’s Title IX office. The necessity of awareness about the issue of sexual assualt is what strikes her the most when she says the stories can demonstrate “how terrifying it can be to be a girl, especially on a college campus.”

While there is tremendous support and admiration for this movement on many college campuses, it does not come without criticism. At DU, some protestors mentioned that only certain student groups are being targeted. In response, the page acknowledges this presumption and says that it posts the content it receives without any edits.

When it was just starting out, students did not know what to expect from it. Chloe Barsh, a sophomore at the University of Denver, feared that “there’s potential that it won’t go past being just an instagram and DU sees it as only that.”

Nevertheless, the page tried establish change with new demands towards the university for more representation of different demographics on its campus safety team, a routine check up on current safety measures, and increased awareness of how to tend to cases of assault better.

On Jan. 21, the DU Title IX office began their letter back to the members of the @wecanDUbetter by acknowledging their bravery and tenacity to take the safety of students on campus into their own hands.

The Vice Chancellor of Campus Life and Inclusive Excellence, Lili Rodriquez, and the DU Title IX Coordinator, Jeremy Enlow, have taken interest in getting to know the activists behind the account in order to team up to create the healthiest learning environment.

The majority of the letter is composed of the requests made by the account and then the administrations responds on how to fix the issue. They seem committed to working towards a new standard for safety and inclusion on campus.

The account’s latest initiative includes a petition restating their goals to improve safety in the DU community because they want to make this statement constantly on the minds of the administration. Additionally, @wecandubetter held a silent protest outside the Anderson Academic Commons on Tues., Jan. 28.

It may have started solely as an Instagram, but it has morphed into an inescapable strike for change. Chancellor Haefner stands with this protest when he says, “I ask that you join me in working towards a new culture, a new University.”