Students took pledges against sexual assault Tuesday  in the Memorial Student Center during the It’s On Us Campaign sponsored by CONTACT Rape Crisis Center.

It’s On Us focuses on sexual assault awareness and prevention on college campuses. The campaign identifies what sexual assault is and what students can do to prevent it.

Representatives from both the It’s On Us campaign and CONTACT explained why it is important to support programs that focus on sexual assault.

Contact campus advocate Jackie Wheeler said the campaign has helped her realize how much the program is needed.

Wheeler said this was her first time working with the It’s On Us campaign as the campus advocate, but she has been active with CONTACT for more than two years.

Wheeler said she was involved in a traumatic event and knows what it is like for the victims.

“It’s a very lonely place,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler said she gets resolution through helping other people break their silence and hopes more students will feel comfortable talking about sexual assault.

Sixteen other college campuses and nine other rape crisis centers in West Virginia also held events to encourage students to make the pledge.