DAYTON, Ohio  — The University of Dayton is proud to support the Atlantic 10 Conference, a founding partner of "It's On Us," in its participation of the campaign's National Week of Action (Nov. 17-23) to further the mission of the effort to end sexual assaults on college campuses. 
 
The "It's On Us" initiative asks everyone –men and women – to make a personal commitment to step off the sidelines and be a part of the solution by taking a pledge to help keep women and men safe from sexual assault. 
 
UD student-athletes from every Flyer intercollegiate sport took part in a public service announcement video, speaking out against sexual assault and being a part of the "It's On Us" initiative. The Dayton Department of Athletics plans on releasing this video through all of its social media channels.The following student-athletes participated: Zach Schira & A.J. Ryan (baseball), Jordan Sibert (men's basketball), Ally Malott and Javonna Layfield (women's basketball), Andrew Eckrich (men's cross country), Mickey Ludlow (women's cross country), Kevin Wargo (men's golf), Kelly Muskat and Mary-Katherine Slattery (women's golf), Allie Rogers and Mary Willard (rowing), Brandon Moore (men's soccer), Kathleen Golterman and Heather Betancourt (women's soccer), Madeline Simmonds (softball), Carsten Fisher (men's tennis), Jackie and Jade Kawamoto (women's tennis), Jordan Hoffman, Maya Pedersen and Sydney Riethman (track and field), Jill Loiars (volleyball).    

"It's important to stand up against sexual assault. We all have to see it as our responsibility to do something, big or small, to prevent it," said Ludlow, a junior on the UD women's cross country team and vice president of Dayton SAAC. "This is an opportunity for us, as athletes, to use our influence for something that's much bigger than ourselves." 

The Atlantic 10 will air It's On Us public service announcements during basketball telecasts and streamed productions on the A-10 Network. The A-10 has launched a dedicated page on Atlantic10.com to encourage fans to take the It's On Us pledge as well as a video player that contains content from the national campaign and A-10 member institutions, including Dayton's video. It can be found at Atlantic10.com/itsonus.

Dayton's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee has teamed up with the conference to sponsor an on-site pledge drive at the 2014 Atlantic 10 Volleyball Championship Nov. 21-23, which will be hosted by the University of Dayton. The conference will also run PSAs on the A-10 Network video streams of championship matches, and the volleyball championship program will contain a print ad for the campaign.

"The A-10 and its member institutions are proud to participate in this campaign. I am committed to utilizing our staff and media resources in helping to create awareness around the disturbing facts of campus sexual assault. The statistics are sobering and it is time to shed light on the circumstances that often lead to campus violence and sexual assault. Participating and joining forces with the White House and so many great organizations in launching the National Week of Action is only a small step toward ending the violence," stated Atlantic 10 Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade.

Dayton, in conjunction with the conference, will maintain its commitment to the campaign throughout the year. The league will continue to air the PSA on arena video boards, produce championship game program advertisements and air PSAs on select television basketball games.

The Atlantic 10 announced its partnership with the White House and other sports entities to sponsor and promote the It's On Us campaign in September. A-10 Commissioner McGlade was in attendance at the White House as part of the official It's On Us announcement by President Obama and Vice President Biden. 

According to Generation Progress, one in five women in the US is sexually assaulted while in college, and most of those assaults occur during in the freshman or sophomore years.  In the great majority of cases (75-80 percent), the victim knows her attacker, whether as an acquaintance, classmate, friend or (ex) boyfriend.