‘We Are All Jane Doe’: Students launch initiative to raise campus sexual assault awareness

About 100 teal flags bearing messages of support for sexual assault survivors filled a patch of McKeldin Mall on Oct. 21 as students gathered for the new Terps4Teal initiative. 

The event was organized by Eva Musiker, a senior environmental science and policy major, and Josilyn Magno, a senior chemistry major, to encourage conversations about sexual assault and prevention at the University of Maryland.

Although Terps4Teal is not affiliated with a campus organization, Musiker hopes to establish it as a club and collaborate with campus resources such as Campus Advocates Respond and Educate to Stop Violence, a program that provides free, confidential advocacy and therapy services for sexual assault survivors.

Magno said the need to start a conversation around sexual assault awareness came from a sense of helplessness after a student, identified as Jane Doe in court documents, alleged that in October 2024 seven members of Cornell’s Chi Phi fraternity sexually assaulted her while she was intoxicated.  

According to the New York Times, two of the accused men were expelled, one who already graduated was barred from campus, others attended workshops and wrote essays. No criminal charges were brought against the accused. 

The lawsuit was filed in November 2024 and drew attention in September, prompting “anger and disbelief” across the country over why more wasn’t done to punish the accused, according to the New York Times.

“Hopefully we are proactive enough to avoid something like that happening here,” Musiker said.

Participants could write statements of encouragement for survivors of sexual assault on a teal stake flag, and plant in the sunlit garden of messages. Participants could also polish their palm with teal paint and inscribe their handprint on the white-clothed organizers’ table. 

Kaylynn Flemons, a sophomore information science major, said the Cornell case made her more aware of sexual assault on college campuses and prompted her to question how UMD handles such cases.

The university’s Office of Civil Rights and Sexual Misconduct (OCRSM) handles reports and complaints of sexual misconduct. In a statement to the Black Explosion, the office said many reports involve incidents that occurred off campus or before a student enrolled at the university. The office defines reports as notifications from Title IX responders or students that an incident may have occurred. 

OCRSM said students in many cases are “only seeking academic or other supportive measures.” These measures can include housing relocation, no-contact orders and changes to work or class schedules.

Though Flemons said the university does a good job of addressing sexual assault claims, she and others criticized RespectEdu for College, a research-informed online training program developed by Vector Solutions that all incoming undergraduate and graduate students must complete before joining the campus community.

According to OCRSM, the training covers consent, healthy and unhealthy relationship communication, strategies for recognizing and interrupting harassment or assault and campus resources.

“Students are just clicking through. It’s not something people take seriously,” Flemons said.

Flemons suggested that in-person training could be more engaging and thought-provoking. “Maybe that would actually leave more of a lasting impact,” Flemons said.

The office reported conducting 175 in-person civil rights training presentations from July 2024 through June 2025, reaching an estimated 4,261 students, staff and faculty on topics including Title IX education, reporting options and support resources.

In a statement to the Black Explosion, OCRSM outlined the program’s curriculum but did not specify how it evaluates RespectEdu for College’s effectiveness in raising awareness or preventing sexual assault.

Musiker said Terps4Teal hopes to hold discussions about sexual assault to make it feel less frightening to speak up and collaborate with administrative offices, including the Office of Student Affairs, to provide more “accessible and approachable” information about Title IX.

“Going onto the website and seeing ‘contact us if you have a problem’ can be really daunting for someone who’s really unsure of how to go about something,” Musiker said. She suggested that student advocates could help students navigate questions about Title IX and sexual violence. 

“Each woman finds a piece of herself in Jane Doe, whether it’s just to be scared to go to the car at night or…just being scared to exist, we should not be scared to exist…that was the message we were trying to convey…,” Magno said.