One Student is beyond thrilled to be a part of this project and down-right giddy to share the trailer for the film with you.

“You are the One — A Journey of Recovery, Discovery and Empowerment” Trailer

Check it out, pass it on and please let us know what you think.

The film will premiere in Tampa, FL this summer and will officially be released in the fall of 2012. Stay tuned for information about how to bring this film to your community. If you want to be sure to get the latest details about this project please sign up for our enews and/ or email Sabrina at Sabrina@onestudent.org.

I Deserve It.

Check out the video and posters.

Use them in your community to address respect and consent. You totally deserve it!

A special thanks to Roosevelt 2.0 in Ybor City for allowing us to use their space to film this project.

What made you want to do this project?  A number of things. I hadn’t done a documentary in a while and it was time. I am particularly drawn to the subject matter as a survivor of childhood sexual abuse. To me, all sexual assault and abuse is ultimately about power and the balance needs to be shifted. So, having worked with Kelly and Becca for a number of years, it just seemed like a perfect fit. They are amazing and inspiring.

Now that you’re a few months into the project, what has surprised you most? I’m surprised how many survivors that I’ve encountered, especially among the freshmen that have shared their stories.

What do you hope campus communities will gain from watching, “You Are The One”? I hope that the awareness of the issues involved continues to grow and that the floodgates of bystander intervention open up. Everyone in the campus community has an important role that he or she can play in the prevention of sexual assault. I think the Penn State allegations are an example of what can go wrong when people choose not to get involved.

What’s your favorite breakfast food?
The best thing I’ve ever had for breakfast was a black bean taco at the now closed Las Manitas in Austin, TX.

What song would be the perfect backdrop to a documentary film about your life?
I think it’s a little too early to call that one.

What inspires you? Honest human communication, great music, great film, my partner Chris and my daughter.

What advice would you give to a student who is interested in pursuing your line of work?
Marry for money, work for love. JK.

What is International Anti-Street Harassment Week?

Amazing activists and ordinary individuals around the world work hard year-round to make public places safer for everyone by addressing gender-based street harassment…but there is strength in numbers. During the third week of March, thousands of people worldwide will join forces to collectively raise awareness that street harassment is a global problem and work toward solutions. Action can be as simple as talking to a friend about the issue or changing one’s Facebook profile photo to the logo of the week, or it can be as involved as organizing an event or rally, writing sidewalk chalk messages, and organizing an art exhibit. March 24 will be the biggest day of activism.

Why is this project important to you?

I receive stories from women all over the world every week who experience unwanted sexual comments, leering, stalking, and touching from men they don’t know when they’re in public places. This behavior is seen as the way things are, a joke, a compliment, or the women’s fault. The stories and the callous attitudes to the problem of street harassment never cease to enrage me. Street harassment has got to end and the first step is to bring awareness to how often this happens to so many women all over the world.  One way to try to raise this awareness is through a week of collective action!

What do you hope the outcome following this event will be?

I hope thousands of people from at least 15 countries will be involved in speaking out about street harassment in their communities and help raise awareness about the issue all over the world. There are 70 participating co-sponsoring organizations on board for the week and my goal is 100. Not only does having these groups on board help involve more people in the week of action but it also makes those organizations more aware of street harassment and how it relates to the work they do so they can integrate the issue going forward. I also hope to get media coverage to bring mainstream public attention to the issue.

How can the One Student community support the efforts of International Anti-Street Harassment Week?

There are many ways members of the One Student community can participate, including by simply agreeing to talk about the issue that week, sharing stories or tweet (#NoSHWeek), and changing their Facebook photo that week. If anyone wants to organize action in their community, submit it to the map so others can find out about it. No action is too small to make a difference.

What’s your favorite breakfast food?

Oooh I love so many breakfast foods, but cereal wins out. I love pretty much any kind. I really like mixing several types to eat at once.

What song would be the perfect backdrop to a documentary film about your life?

Hmm. I would love to have the soundtrack to Anne of Green Gables playing in the background. The movies were among my favorites growing up and I think Anne is a great role model!

What inspires you?

Learning about people who make a difference in the world, including Irena Sendler, who was a Polish woman who helped save 2, 500 Jewish children during the Holocaust, and Noorjahan Akbar, an Afghani college student who co-founded Young Women for Change to address issues like street harassment, low literacy, and the continued practice of stoning women.

What advice would you give to a student who is interested in pursuing your line of work?

As an activist, I’ve found that the most important thing you can do is to let your passion guide you. When you are excited or feel inspired about something, pursue it because with that energy you can produce your best, most effective work. And that feeling of excitement won’t last forever, so follow it when it’s there!

Find people you trust with whom you can brainstorm ideas, test messaging, and get support. 

The internet is your friend. Use it to research ideas, talking points, find like-minded people or organizations.  Keep on top of your topic by using google alerts, RSS readers, and the twitter search tool.

Be creative and persistent. If one idea doesn’t work, doesn’t grab people’s attention, try something new or adapt your idea and try again.

About Ms. Kearl

Since finishing graduate school nearly 5 years ago, Holly Kearl has been working for the Washington, DC-based non-profit American Association of University Women, managing programs that address issues like sexual harassment in schools and workplace discrimination. Last fall she co-authored a national report on sexual harassment in grades 7–12, Crossing the Line: Sexual Harassment at School, and Kearl gives talks and media interviews on the topic.

Holly does a lot of activism around gender-based street harassment. In 2008 she founded the website/blog Stop Street Harassment, in 2010 wrote the book Stop Street Harassment: Making Public Places Safe and Welcoming for Women (Praeger) and this year she’s organizing International Anti-Street Harassment Week.

Holly attended Santa Clara University in CA where she received degrees in history and women’s studies and then received a master’s degree in public policy and women’s studies from George Washington University.

What was the situation? Looking back, what do you wish you would have done differently?

1)    Discuss sex and establishing your own sexual boundaries BEFORE you engage in sexual activity.  Sexual activity does NOT just mean intercourse.  It can mean ALL forms of sexual contact—kissing, oral sex, anal sex, manual sex, etc.

2)    Honoring the boundaries your partner has established in regards to sex, and your partner honoring your sexual boundaries. No threatening, coercing, teasing, getting angry, etc. when your partner voices those boundaries.

3)    Sexual relationships should be “power balanced”.  That means there should not be a huge difference in power because of age or other factors.  For example, a 22-year-old college student with a 15-year-old high school student is not only illegal; it’s an imbalance of power.  Another example would be a teacher with a student or an employer with an employee.

4)     Sexual activity should be private.  It should not be bragged about.  This is a person, not a conquest or addition to your ego.  Examples would be posting details about the sexual activity on Facebook, Twitter, texting pictures of it or details of it to friends, telling people who are not close to you about it, assigning degrading names to your partner or the sexual act that took place.

5)    Reproductive health should be discussed beforehand and dealt with.  That means protecting against STIs and pregnancy.  BOTH partners are responsible for this. 

6)    Sex should be pleasurable to BOTH partners.  Sexual activity should never be one-sided.  Both people should experience pleasure, not just one.

1)  Someone who tries to separate you from your friends at a party

2)  Someone who keeps feeding you alcohol to make you very drunk

3)  Someone who wants to “take you somewhere private” and you’ve only known them for a few hours

4)  Someone who calls you disrespectful names if you say “no” to them (i.e. a tease, asshole, bitch, fag, dyke, etc.)

5)  Someone who doesn’t respect your decisions around limiting your drinks or staying with your friends.  Remember, if they don’t listen to your “no I don’t want another beer” they may not listen to your “no” later on

6)  Someone who is focused solely on your looks (i.e. comments on your legs, what you’re wearing, how hot you are etc.) and won’t hold a reasonable conversation with you

7)  Someone who uses their status to impress or coerce you (i.e. “I’m the captain of the football team.  You should feel lucky I’m spending time with you when I could have any girl I want.”)

8)  Someone who is significantly older than you are (a 45-year-old college professor has little in common with an 18-year-old freshman). 

9)  Someone who tries to coerce you into taking nude or provocative pictures (these can be used later on if you try to end the relationship to embarrass you).

10)  Someone who has a “reputation” for being abusive or sexually coercive (i.e. my friends told me he/she can be an ass, some of their friends told me to stay away).