The student athletes of SUNY Oneonta have pledged to "step up, speak up and take action" as part of an initiative to bring awareness to not being bystanders and to intervene to promote safety and protect those that may be in harms way.
 
To this end, 2015 graduate and Captain of the women's tennis team, Brynn Sussman, produced a video that speaks to Bystander Intervention, which is a philosophy and strategy for prevention of various types of violence, including bullying, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and intimate partner violence.
 
"Putting together the Bystander Intervention video was a fun and a very enjoyable experience for me!" stated Sussman.  "It is always fun working with my fellow student athletes, but it was even more rewarding to come together to promote a message as important as bystander intervention.
 
The student athletes have pledged to:
 
"Not be silent when potentially dangerous situations occur"
"Find a way to intervene in any situation that could cause harm to another person"
"Endorse the values of safety, victim support and intolerance of all forms of violence"
"Support and encourage others in our lives to take responsibility for ending all forms of violence"
"Step up, speak up, and take action"
"Not be bystanders"
 
After the success and recognition received from the release last spring of the "It's on Us" video the latest project was rolled out to the student athletes of SUNY Oneonta during day-long programming on Aug. 30.  Last spring's video was selected by the NCAA as its Diversity Spotlight winner for the month of March.
 
SUNY Oneonta athletics would like to challenge other student athletes around the country to make a pledge to not be bystanders.