In CU visit, Vice President Biden Issues "Test of Character"
Joe Biden was smiling as he took the stage at CU-Boulder April 8, but he'd come to deliver a solemn message bluntly
“No mean's no,” the vice president blaredat a Rec Center crowd estimated at 1,500,“whether it’s in the classroom, parking lot,or whether you’re already in bed with himand you change your mind. No means no!”
It was Biden’s third and final college visitof the week, part of the White House’s“It’s On Us” campaign to prevent sexualviolence at colleges and universities.
Nationwide, about one in four womenbetween the ages of 14 and 24 are sexuallyassaulted or raped, Biden said, a ratethat’s held steady for decades. CU hasbeen intensifying its efforts to combatsexual misconduct.
In his remarks — discursive, at timestheatrical, at times poignant — Bidenreflected on his advocacy for victims ofdomestic abuse and sexual assault, tellingstories of victims he’d known, sometimesin jarringly graphic terms that left thegymnasium in a stunned hush.
The “It’s On Us” campaign’s coremessage is that everyone, including menand bystanders, must help prevent sexualassault, a point emphasized by a series ofspeakers preceding Biden.
Among them was Ralphie handlerMax Demby (Acct’16), who disrupted anassault in progress on campus last spring.The perpetrator was caught, charged andconvicted. The victim, Demby said, “hascontinued to lead a normal and happy life.”
“I want to stress that the effort to stopsexual assault starts with us,” he said.Biden later called Demby back tothe lectern.
“I’m glad I got to meet Max,” he said,wrapping an arm around the student’sshoulders and noting that Biden’s ownson, Beau, who died of cancer last year,had done the same thing as a Universityof Pennsylvania student.
“Look in the mirror and ask, are you beingthe man you think you are?” Biden said.If you can’t intervene, call for help, hesaid. If you learn about the assault later,believe and support the victim.
“That’s the character test you’regoing to have to pass,” he said.
Afterward, Biden posed for a longseries of selfies with enthusiasticcellphone wielding students, oftenholding the camera himself.