It Takes Courage is an upcoming advocacy short film on the topic of campus sexual assault, with the goal of promoting increased awareness about this serious problem for Towson University and college campuses across the country. The film will be produced by the Department of Electronic Media and Film – under the leadership of Screenwriter and Producer Marc May (Assistant Professor, EMF), Co-Director and Producer Joe Kraemer (Assistant Professor, EMF), and Co-Director and Producer Chung-Wei Huang (Adjunct Instructor, EMF) – and created in partnership with the Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity, under the leadership of Vice President Dr. Leah Cox and her team.

This film seeks to educate students, faculty, and staff about the importance of reporting sexual misconduct and to demonstrate the resources and support offered to victims by the university. By addressing this difficult-to-discuss problem head-on in a dynamic way that engages and educates students, It Takes Courage will demonstrate how committed TU is to solving this problem and protecting its students. As President Kim Schatzel wrote in her October 3rd email to the university, there is “the need for more education about sexual assault prevention, consent, and bystander training for students throughout their years at TU.” This project intends to help meet that need.

It Takes Courage will follow the same model as another film produced by the EMF Department for TUPD titled Just Another Day: How to Survive an Active Shooter Event on Campus (2018). Depicting what to do in the event of an emergency, the film conveys important information for our students within a cinematic story. After its launch in 2018, the film went viral, reaching four million viewers on YouTube, and was honored with industry accolades, including a Regional Emmy Award nomination.

It Takes Courage will utilize the apprenticeship model used in the film industry, where working professionals (including TU alumni) are hired in key leadership roles, while hiring students to apprentice with them in order to gain valuable job training and networking opportunities with industry veterans, thus becoming a service-learning opportunity. Students will get to work on-set alongside faculty and professionals, where they will gain not only a credit to list on their resume, but also an experiential, hands-on learning experience that provides professional development.