"It’s On Us" is a nonprofit organization focused on prevention education programs for students. It was founded in 2014 by the Obama administration and MSU’s chapter has been around since its inception. 

POE Prevention Education Manager Jodie Goodman has planned the event alongside a planning committee of students and staff. 

"'It's On Us' is a great opportunity to affirm our values of preventing violence and supporting survivors, and it shows us some really concrete actions we can take to move in that direction," Goodman said.

It's important for the Week of Action to have student voices involved in the event planning, Goodman said. The planning committee, which is co-chaired by two students, has been meeting with Goodman weekly since August. 

Psychology and criminal justice junior Jordyn Giganti is one of the co-chairs, along with doctoral psychology student Mihael Keeler. Giganti said that herself and Keeler were heavily involved with the planning and coordination of the events. 

"Our main goals were creating the days for the week of action, helping with budgeting, just the nuts and bolts of everything, and making a structure for how we wanted the week to go," Giganti said. 

POE and MSU's "It's On Us" wanted students to feel that the events are for them, so students on the planning committee provide input on important factors like location and time. 

"That sort of feedback helps us plan events that we hope will meet students where they already are," Goodman said. 

Giganti also said that one of the ideas she wanted to implement in this semester’s Week of Action was more social media engagement. Throughout the week there will be scavenger hunts and spirit days put on through the It’s On Us Instagram account.

"Me, personally, coming into my freshman year, I looked at social media all of the time to see fun, cool, interesting, amazing opportunities to just go and have fun and engage on campus," she said. 

For the past two semesters, since Goodman has been involved with the Week of Action, participation in the event has increased. 

"We had about almost 500 students participate my first semester, and… closer to 1200 students participate my second semester," Goodman said. "So, I'm hoping to grow it again this year."

Giganti said that after the week is over, she hopes that survivors feel supported, and students are more aware of the resources available on campus.  

"The main goal of 'It's On Us' is to support survivors on their journey to healing," she said. "We want to help lift and empower survivors on this journey… we want to help provide awareness to people on campus and resources to those who are on campus."

Each event will be a different way for community members to provide support for survivors and for the different resources on campus. The schedule for the Week of Action is as follows:

Monday, Nov. 11

There are two events on Monday. "Survivors Matter with Strange Matter" will take place at Beaumont Tower from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Students can access resources, support survivors and there will be free coffee or cocoa provided by local coffee company, Strange Matter. The first 100 attendees will get a free "It's On Us" mug. 

Then, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in the Student Services Building courtyard, there will be rock painting and letter writing. Attendees can paint rocks and write letters of support to survivors at MSU.

Tuesday, Nov. 12

The "Cultivate Change" event on Tuesday will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Wells Hall Park. Participants will decorate pots and plant seeds to represent the progress made by change-makers around campus. 

From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Brody Hall, there will be a Community Closet restock for the MSU Center for Survivors. One of the goals of the Week of Action is to buy out the Amazon wish list for the MSU Center for Survivor’s community closet. 

"The items on their Amazon wish list are provided to patients receiving treatment from the sexual assault health care program," Goodman said. 

In order to clear out the wish list, the Week of Action needs to fundraise $2,000. This is the first semester that the Week of Action has a fundraising goal. 

Event participants don’t have to donate, they can also attend to help spread the word about the fundraiser and MSU Center for Survivors. 

Wednesday, Nov. 13

In Brody room 136 from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., there will be a journaling session, "Hope Action Journaling." The goal of this event is to foster hope and resilience through journaling while thinking about actions that attendees can take to help survivors. 

From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Brody Auditorium poet and storyteller Ebony Stewart will be hosting a poetry workshop. Stewart uses poetry and storytelling to "examine and challenge systemic varieties of violence in order to envision a country where people are protected and valued through proactive methods."

Thursday, Nov. 14

There will be another community closet restock in the Snyder-Phillips Dining Hall from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thursday. 

From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. in Wells Hall People’s Park, there will be a Tie Dye Totes event. Attendees can tie dye a free tote bag. 

Friday, Nov. 15

On Friday, there will be the grand finale of the Week of Action in Wells Hall People’s Park from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be a candy buffet, and attendees can also make friendship bracelets while celebrating the week. 

There will also be weeklong chances to participate. 

The campus partner scavenger hunt will take place all week. There are three plushies hidden at three campus resources that support survivors and students at MSU. There will be a clue each day, on the MSU It’s On Us Instagram, to lead students to the plushie, first to arrive will claim the plushie as a prize. 

Also, for each day, participants can dress in that day’s Spirit theme color and post a selfie with the hashtag "MSUitsonusFall24" to spread the word about the week’s events. 

On Monday, wear teal for sexual assault awareness; on Tuesday, purple for domestic violence awareness; on Wednesday, wear Spartan Gear; Thursday is yellow for stalking awareness; and finally on Friday, wear denim. 

The Week of Action, Goodman said, is a representation of community and the opportunities that come from community engagement and working together. 

"If things seem out of control on a global or national level, you can look to the community and local level to see that there are folks who care about the same things you care about and are trying to move our community in that direction," she said.  

Beyond the Week of Action, students and community members can get involved through volunteer opportunities or by becoming a POE peer educator, which is a paid position for students. 

Giganti is a volunteer crisis advocate as well as being a co-chair for It’s On Us. She said that going through the training to become a volunteer for POE or MSU Center for Survivors is a really impactful experience. 

"You could be a crisis advocate; you can work the hotline or crisis chat. Even if, let's say, you go through the training and it's not for you, it really teaches you a lot of important life skills," Giganti said. "For pretty much anyone, it is a wonderful opportunity."