LCC Bolsters Sexual Assault Prevention Practices with Haven

Photo: Lamar Community College staff and student leadership with Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman. Left to Right – Vice President Chad DeBono, Director of Human Resources Jenni Mortimeyer, Student Body Vice President Mia Cory, Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, President Dr. Linda Lujan, and Student Body President Luis Ortiz, Jr.

(Pueblo, Colorado – October 20, 2016) – On Wednesday, October 19, Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman met with students and educators from several higher education institutions to launch a new program to provide critical sexual assault prevention education to colleges and universities around Colorado.

Through funding provided by the Attorney General’s Office, the Haven-Understanding Sexual Assault^TM program will be provided at no cost to Lamar Community College students as well as students at five other higher education institutions including: Colorado State University-Ft. Collins, Colorado State University-Pueblo, Otero Junior College, Pueblo Community College, and Trinidad State Junior College.

Attorney General Coffman expressed her concern for sexual assault throughout Colorado campuses and shared some staggering statistics.  One in five female students and one in sixteen male students will experience some form of sexual assault during their college career.  Additionally, only 20% of women who are a victim of sexual assault will report that assault.

Jenni Mortimeyer, Director of Human Resources at LCC, worked to bring this program to the Lamar campus specifically to address this.

“We recognize that there are many barriers that students face when working towards a degree,” said Mortimeyer.  “At Lamar Community College, we don’t want sexual assault to be one of the barriers that our students face, so we are taking a proactive approach and providing Haven prevention training.  We hope that by giving them these tools up front, we can help them make healthy choices and be supportive of their peers.” 

Haven is a computer-based simulation program along with a survey for students to complete. The program is fully interactive; students learn about sexual assault prevention and are given access to additional resources should the want to learn more.  The program also simulates various situations in which sexual assault may be possible, allowing students to work through what they might do in that situation.

“Receiving this opportunity from the Attorney General’s Office will enable us expand upon our efforts to develop the whole student,” said Mortimeyer.  “This training will enable us to meet students’ holistic needs; helping them to learn skills which will allow them to become more aware of the consequences of their own actions and the actions of those around them, and will help give them the confidence to speak up when something isn’t right.”

Introduction of this new training program builds upon LCC’s current practices in sexual assault prevention and support via its student support program, LopesCares.

“LopesCares is available to assist students with accessing essential resources in times of need. We are honored to be a part of this partnership with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office and EverFi, and look forward to working together in our prevention efforts,” said Mortimeyer.

During the program launch, students Mia Cory and Luis Ortiz Jr, LCC student body Vice President and President respectively, weighed in on what LCC has already done prior to implementation of Haven.

Cory mentioned that information is readily available on campus, including easy access to crisis prevention numbers.  However, she mentioned that, as one of the six resident advisors on campus, having additional information on how to handle sexual assault situations in the dormitories would be helpful.

Ortiz echoed Cory’s statements.

“I feel like the staff does a really great job of reaching out to those who need someone to talk to,” he said.  “From my perspective, the athletic coaches especially preach about staying out of trouble. One wrong move and the rest of your life could change, as Coach Crampton has iterated several times throughout the time I have attended the college.”

“The concern to have the brightest future possible starts from the wonderful leadership shown throughout the staff and faculty, down to the last student in the college. It’s a collective process to prevent events like this from happening,” added Ortiz.

The program will be in effect until July of 2020 as a partnership between EverFi and Title IX.  During this time, Everfi plans to add more crucial information to better the program and make it more effective.

“Lamar Community College is honored to have been selected as one of the institutions to receive this funding,” said Dr. Linda Lujan, President of Lamar Community College. “If we can proactively educate students about sexual assault prevention we equip them with important knowledge and tools to improve their college experience.”

“I especially want to thank our partners, the Attorney General and her office along with Everfi, Inc. for this opportunity,” continued Dr. Lujan.  “With the help of this technology, we can proactively work with students to help prevent sexual assault.”

For more information regarding sexual assault prevention on the LCC campus, contact Jenni Mortimeyer at 719.336.1572 or jennifer.mortimeyer@lamarcc.edu. 

About Haven Haven-Understanding Sexual Assault^TM, created by EverFi Inc., is the nation’s leading online training program focused on preventing sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking – critical issues impacting countless college students across the country. Last year, over 650 colleges and universities utilized Haven, reaching more than 750k students nationwide.