On Oct. 21, the football team played its second annual Set the Expectation (STE) game against North Park, standing up to sexual assault and violence. Players wore wristbands and had stickers on their helmets with “Set the Expectation” printed on them.
According to their website, STE is a “nonprofit organization dedicated to ending sexual and interpersonal violence through prevention work with men, advocacy and engagement with agencies serving survivors and their families.”
According to the website, Brenda Tracy, a sexual assault survivor, founded STE in 2017 after speaking with college football teams nationwide about her experience and how they can also be advocates.
Zachary Draves, Augustana’s program director for the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention Education, set up a table with STE pamphlets, resources and pledges.
Draves leads annual bystander prevention training with all of Augustana’s athletic teams, which is an NCAA requirement. To take the training one step further, Draves presented STE to the football team for the first time in Fall of 2022. Draves said he believes each team on campus should be held to the same standard.
“What I always like to emphasize is how sport can be used to be part of the solution,” Draves said. “Oftentimes, we hear of sport as a space where the problem of domestic and sexual violence permeates. And while the problem is certainly there, as it is in the rest of society, we do need to root it out.”
Earlier in the week, players signed STE pledges, which are posted on windows on the fourth floor of the Gerber Center. These pledges represent players’ commitments to standing up against sexism, holding others accountable for their actions, practicing consensual sex and being leaders for change on Augustana’s campus. Players were encouraged to sign the pledges, but were not required to.
According to Sidney Maroon, a Fifth-Year football player, expectations within the STE pledge hold football players accountable and strengthen Augustana’s campus community.
“There’s roughly 150 guys on the team, and that holds some power throughout the campus. A lot of things can go wrong pretty quickly,” Maroon said. “It’s important for [Draves] to talk to us about it and bring awareness to this topic within our team so that we know the importance. That way, we can use it within our team and keep an eye out for other things going on throughout campus.”
Stephen Bell, head coach of the football team, says he holds his team to a high standard and cultivates a culture of respect within his team.
“I think that how you treat people goes a long way,” Bell said. “[The pledge] sets a bar of accountability of how you’re going to treat people.”
David Ragone, assistant coach of the football team, believes the football team holds the power to lead by example for Augustana’s campus. Bell and Ragone have coached together for over 25 years, and Ragone says they mentored their players to uphold Augustana’s campus values.
“Anytime they put a jersey or anything that says ‘Augie football’ on [it], they represent that program, their family and the school in whatever they do,” Ragone said. “We try to have them meet and uphold that standard because of who they represent.”
According to Draves, sports have been used as a force for change for decades.
“For them to be able to make a statement like this and for allowing us to be able to work with them in this regard says a lot about their character,” Draves said. “It says a lot about who they are as young men and the example that they’re setting.”
