Surveys are a great way to collect information from a variety of sources in a short amount of time, especially when people can answer anonymously for more sensitive topics, such as sexual assault. Iowa State recently sent out a survey looking to find answers about the current climate around campus.

In years past, there has not been a great outcome from similar surveys as many students chose not to participate for one reason or another.

For those of you who have not yet completed the survey, there might be a few reasons. One of those might be that you didn’t know there was a survey or didn’t know what that email was for. The email from “campus climate” is not an environmental-related survey. This survey is actually about sexual assault and misconduct.

Once one clicks on the link to the survey, they will see a page explaining what the survey is and some background on it.

It states, “This survey is sponsored by your college in collaboration with the Association of American Universities (AAU). Westat, an independent research firm, is administering the survey. This research is covered by a federal Certificate of Confidentiality from the National Institutes of Health. You will not be identified with any of your survey responses. Survey results will be used to guide policies to encourage a healthy, safe and nondiscriminatory environment on campus. By filling out the survey, you can make sure your voice and experiences are counted.”

Everyone should participate in this quick survey.

The survey opens with some questions about your background. The survey then asks you questions about Iowa State’s environment. For example, it asks if students, faculty or university officials are concerned with each other’s well-being. After that, it gives the participants a warning stating that the next questions contain sensitive content on sexual assault or misconduct. The questions following ask if the participant knows what sexual assault or misconduct is, if there is any on campus and how to handle it if you or anyone you know is in that situation.

It is important for students to fill out this survey. It is important for the issues to be known and data to be taken. The only way to prevent these issues is to speak about them. Sexual assault is an important issue, and the only way Iowa State can change is if students and faculty let it know it needs to.