The UW-Madison subcommittee on Sexual Assault and Dating Violence hosted UW-Madison faculty and students Thursday for a workshop on the dangers of stalking.
Carol Glassmaker, a University of Wisconsin Police Department detective, began the session by stressing the need for students to report instances of stalking.
[It] is one of those cases that is not always reported '¦ a lot of people think [they are] just imagining things,"" Glassmaker said.
According to Glassmaker, acts of stalking include maintaining visual proximity, contacting friends of the victim, sending gifts and entering the victim's house.
Glassmaker advised both male and female students to contact 911 when they suspect they are victims of stalking.
""We have both victims, females and males '¦ here, on the university campus. It's equal from what we have seen on our statistics,"" she said.
Christopher Daood, a UHS graduate intern, said stalking is often seen among college-aged people.
""[Stalking] is important for [the campus] to know and be aware of,"" he said.
Daood differentiated stalking from love persistence, citing the use of a ""fear factor"" in instances of stalking.
""Stalking is not consensual,"" he said. ""That is what separates love persistence from stalking.""
Carmen Hotvedt, student services coordinator for UHS, concluded the program and announced the $300,000 donation recently awarded to UW-Madison.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Office of Violence Against Women granted the university the money to fund sexual assault and domestic violence prevention services.
The money will specifically fund the ""Community Problems, Community Solutions: Building Capacity to End Violence Against Women at UW-Madison"" project.
Hotvedt said she hopes the project will educate, prevent and stop sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence and stalking on campus.
Marlys Howe, a member of the subcommittee, said increased education among students increases awareness.
""I think [stalking] is a really important issue because it affects everybody on campus and it is a very prevalent issue,"" UW-Madison senior Meredith Bourne said. ""A lot of people don't talk about it because there is a lot of shame and secrecy for victims, so there is a lot of underreporting.""
Students can learn more about stalking and its consequences at www.ncvc.org/src.
