‘We definitely want change’: Students will be teachers in new UNL anti-harassment program

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is launching a new anti-harassment training program this fall.

The twist? It’s training students to teach students.

The Huskers Care program will launch almost a year after multiple nights of protests caused the fraternity known as FIJI to shut down.

The effects of that event still show in the Change.org petition that garnered 500,000 signatures and anonymous comments that tell of the sexual violence and harassment students have faced on campus.

“As a student, it was really scary. In my four years here at Nebraska, I’d never seen students so passionate about such a vital issue,” Jayven Brandt said. “It was definitely something that had taken over the entire campus at once, and I think we hadn’t seen that before.”

The new program will teach sophomores, juniors and seniors to train their peers on how to prevent sexual and relationship violence.

Melissa Wilkerson, interim director of UNL’s Center for Advocacy, Response & Education, said CARE is excited about the program and the education students will receive.

“We’re going to focus on that this year, on using students help educate their fellow students,” Wilkerson said.

Some students are very excited about the program, saying they want to see it take off and succeed.

“Here at the university, we’ve shown that we definitely want change, we definitely want to move forward, we don’t want to go back,” Brandt said. “Students are always looking forward, to find ways to be active and be supportive of programs on campus.”

Students can apply for the program until July 28.