Whitman College To Launch CHECK IT Program in Fall of 2025

After a year of reflection, collaboration and groundwork, Whitman has moved into a new chapter of its Culture of Respect journey, translating what we’ve learned into visible action and momentum.

The Culture of Respect Campus Leadership Team has been moving this work forward, grounded in both national best practices and the lived realities of our campus community.

In preparation for the coming academic year, we’ve selected CHECK IT as the foundation of our student programming. We’re also reviewing results from last year’s Higher Education Data Sharing (HEDS) Sexual Assault Campus Climate Survey. While response rates were limited, the feedback that was received is helping inform how we think about student experience and guide next steps in policy, education and support.

About CHECK IT

We’re introducing CHECK IT as a central part of our efforts to prevent sexual violence. It will serve as the foundation for Whitman’s student-focused prevention programs and directly supports Pillar 3: Multi-Tiered Education in Whitman’s Culture of Respect initiative. CHECK IT ensures that our prevention work is comprehensive, student-centered, and sustained throughout the campus community. CHECK IT will be implemented through collaboration between students and college administrators. This creative, intersectional, transformative and student-powered movement is designed to shift culture and establish new consent-centered norms. CHECK IT is rooted in evidence based behavioral strategies that go beyond awareness building and move our community into action that results in meaningful behavioral change. CHECK IT offers students creative and practical ways to interrupt harm while reinforcing a shared ethic of care. 

“This is all of our work,” says Aimée Milne, Associate Vice President for Wellness. “Prevention belongs to the whole community. That’s why we’re building something rooted in Whitman’s values and student voice. With CHECK IT, we’re helping staff, faculty and students take care of each other and shift the culture together.”

CHECK IT is developed by the team at Recognize Violence, Change Culture (RVCC), first introduced as a campus partner by Vice President for Inclusive Excellence Dr. John Johnson in 2021, a campus partner who has been collaborating with campus administration, students, faculty and staff at Whitman over the last four years. The program equips students to lead with empathy and engage in real-time bystander intervention. Its strength lies in its peer-to-peer model and its ability to speak directly to student identity, agency, and belonging. 

“The CHECK IT program is set up to strengthen individual knowledge and skills while also building coalitions, engaging in community education, and establishing new group and institutional norms,” says Mary Sue Savage, Executive Director of Recognize Violence Change Culture.

Our recent prevention efforts were also featured in the Culture of Respect blog, which highlighted student-led programming during Sex Week and our broader commitment to centering student voice in this work.

Using Climate Data for Institutional Change

Whitman’s Culture of Respect work is guided by six strategic pillars, and Pillar 6: Ongoing Assessment will play a key role in the coming academic year. The Pillar 6 group which is part of the broader Culture of Respect Campus Leadership Team structure, is currently reviewing results from the Higher Education Data Sharing (HEDS) Sexual Assault Campus Climate Survey, administered last spring to better understand student experiences, perceptions of safety, and trust in institutional response.

While response rates were limited, the feedback we received is helping shape how we think about student experience and guide our next steps in prevention, education and support. This includes informing new programming like CHECK IT and refining how we engage and communicate across campus.

Insights from the HEDS survey are also shaping work across other areas of the CORE Blueprint. Under Pillar 2: Clear Policies, a campus-wide Title IX policy revision task force composed of faculty and staff from Academic Affairs, Athletics, Human Resources and Student Affairs has already begun meeting to strengthen Whitman’s response framework. Student representatives will be engaged in the next phase of review once a working draft is in place.

By integrating data with lived experience, the Culture of Respect initiative continues to build a prevention and response strategy that is evidence-informed and grounded in community.

Looking Ahead

Whitman’s engagement in the Culture of Respect Collective reflects a deepening commitment to prevention, accountability and community care and this year’s work marks meaningful progress and momentum for the work ahead.

As we prepare to launch CHECK IT in the coming academic year, and continue integrating climate data into our planning, Whitman is laying the foundation for long-term, community-driven change. We invite all members of our community to learn more, get involved and join us in creating a campus grounded in equity, dignity and care.

To learn more or reach out:

Cassandre Beccai, Director of Equity and Compliance / Title IX Coordinator, beccaic@whitman.edu
Aimée Milne, Associate Vice President for Wellness, milnea@whitman.edu