That's how Ryan Westman characterizes his experience as an NCAA Division I athlete. A senior who runs the 400 meters at Rutgers University, Westman says his varsity jacket has served as a source of pride and identity. At the same time, it's doubled as a backstage pass to the riskier, darker side of campus life.


"People you don't even know see that you're an athlete and say, 'Come to our party,' or 'Come do this or that,'" Westman explains. "You're offered more chances to get involved in negative things, like drinking and drugs—and sometimes it's tough to make a stand for positive things and say, 'No, I don't want to be a part of that.'"


While facing that pressure is a challenge, it isn't one Westman is facing alone. At Rutgers, a program called SCREAM Athletes has been successful in preparing athletes to resist the negative pressures they face. A video version of the program has just become available to campuses nationwide. 


Mandatory viewing for every team on the Rutgers campus, the SCREAM Athletes program (which stands for Students Challenging Realities and Educating Against Myths) uses student-athletes as actors in fictional scenarios that portray real-life situations. The presentations are followed by frank discussions about the realities of student-athlete life and how athletes can use their status on campus to promote positive values. 


This summer, the Rutgers Department of Sexual Assault Services and Crime Victim Assistance (SAS/CVA) collaborated with Rutgers Intercollegiate Athletics to produce a 25-minute video version of the program that focuses on sexual assault. According to Ruth Anne Koenick, Director of SAS/CVA at Rutgers, research shows that some aspects of college athletics culture make violence against women a particular problem—language, traditions, and practices that create an atmosphere she describes as "rape-supportive," where violence against women is tolerated or even promoted. However, what makes the SCREAM Athletes program special is that it focuses not on problems within athletics, but on how athletes can be agents for change. 


"Is there a difference between athletics culture and the rest of campus on this issue? Absolutely," Koenick says. "But we don't approach this as 'student-athletes are more prone to being sexually violent.' Our stance has always been that student-athletes have a unique opportunity to take leadership on this issue. Yes, there are some things in their culture that may be rape-supportive and conducive to sexual violence, so let's find a way to help student-athletes step up and say, 'This is not behavior that I will tolerate, in myself or in my teammates.'" 


Both the on-campus program and the video take an unblinking approach to depicting realities that aren't often discussed openly. "After a production, there is usually dead silence," says Westman, the program's coordinator. "People are in shock at how realistic the skits are. The theater productions create a very real experience that leaves an impact. And that is something we strive for."


Koenick says it's also important that Rutgers' Athletic Director, Bob Mulcahy, and its football and women's basketball coaches appear on the video. "Part of what we heard over and over from student-athletes is that coaches and administrators are the ones who set the tone on the issue of women and violence, and from their involvement, it's clear where our administration stands," Koenick says. 


Mulcahy says his commitment to the issue comes from a desire to make a difference by confronting realities today's student-athletes face. "There seems to be an attitude of arrogance toward women and sexual contact on campuses today," he says, "and there is a big tendency for administrations to look the other way and not really want to know what's going on. I believe I have a responsibility to make sure the student-athletes I am responsible for understand where I stand on the issue.


"One of the reasons I took this job was to have an impact on young people's lives," he continues. "And if I'm going to do that, I have to be responsive to the problems that actually exist on campus today." 


The video program is appropriate for both college and high school audiences, Koenick says, although she cautions that some high school administrators may have concerns about language used in the film. For either audience, she strongly suggests involving an expert in the field of sexual assault when presenting the video. 


Mulcahy recommends using the video with teams individually. "It really works better with smaller groups of athletes who know each other well, because the discussions are much better," he says. "We've used it with male and female athletes from the same sport at the same time, and that works well." 


For information or to purchase the materials, e-mail Ruth Anne Koenick at: koenick@rci.rutgers.edu. More information is available on the Web at: http://sexualassault.rutgers.edu.