Within the past year, the horrific phenomenon of campus sexual assault has received unprecedented national media attention. From former Columbia student Emma Sulkowicz's controversial performance art "Mattress Performance (Carry That Weight)," to Rolling Stone's eye-opening feature "A Rape on Campus" (which, despite its debunkment, incited a widespread debate on not only how survivors of rape are treated, but how their cases are mishandled or simply ignored), to the federal Title IX investigation over alleged internal misconduct of sexual assault by almost 100 colleges and universities. Though inherently tragic, these events have catapulted the long-ignored -- or intentionally overlooked -- issue of sexual assault within the bubble of collegiate institutions into public discourse, we're still a long way from overhauling preventative, rehabilitative, or litigative internal campus policies.
In the wake of the Title IX federal inquiries, Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) -- also one of the schools currently under investigation -- is forging innovative ways to discuss and counter campus rape with the help of an interactive graphic novel.
An entirely student-created and -curated endeavor, "Decisions That Matter: An Interactive Experience" was conceived in the specialized course "Morality Play: Laboratory for Interactive Media and Values Education," offered by CMU's Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences and Entertainment Technology Center. The primary aim of the course, which brings together a diversified array of undergraduate and graduate students from different majors and backgrounds, is to make a collaborative effort to solve a real life issue.
For the CMU students, coming up with a relevant societal problem to combat was obvious.
"I care about [campus sexual assault] because I know people who have been affected. I'm interested in intervention methods that could make a difference," said participant Anna Malone in a news brief posted on the CMU website.
What differentiates "Decisions That Matter" from other traditional related rape culture narratives apart from its immersive interface is that it puts the reader/player in the role of a bystander, rather than that of a survivor or law enforcement (see: Law and Order: SVU). According to a video posted on their website, "Decisions That Matter" is meant to "inspire bystanders towards primary prevention against sexual assault on college campuses...[it] should leave the guest educated on the situations in which sexual assault can occur as well as feeling empowered on the differences they can make with their actions." In short: the "choose your own adventure"-esque program emphasizes the warning signs by applying the hypothetical to the real in a way that is true-to-life: morally ambiguous, banal situations which, with one wrong move from an observer or witness, can escalate to a devastating degree.
You can play "Decisions That Matter" here.
Photo: Poeloq | Flickr
