First-year students are at a higher risk of experiencing sexual misconduct within their first semester at Pitt, making education and research integral pieces of sexual violence prevention, according to Carrie Benson. Benson said this is one of the many reasons she decided to pursue a Pitt Seed project and strengthen initiatives such as the “Circle.
For Dev Hayostek, the opportunity to forward conversations about sexual agency is something they do not take for granted. Hayostek is an employee at Circle Up, a program that aims to generate discussion about sexual agency through guided conversations in welcoming environments.