During an interview with the student newspaper, the university president is asked whether the institution's efforts to increase awareness of campus sexual assault have been helpful, particularly since more incidents have been reported in the current academic year. The president responds that more people coming forward is a positive sign, then says: "I'm not pleased that we have sexual assaults, obviously. The goal would be to end that, to never have another sexual assault. That's probably not a realistic goal just given human nature, and that's unfortunate, but the more we understand about it, the better we are at trying to handle it and help people get through these difficult situations."

Students react swiftly, criticizing the remarks on social media, organizing protests, and posting an online petition. Negative media coverage quickly follows, painting the institution as lacking commitment to preventing sexual assault and being insensitive toward survivors.

This was not a drill for Joe Brennan, who dealt with this exact situation at the University of Iowa. The former vice president for strategic communication reported to then-President Sally Mason, who made those comments to The Daily Iowan in February 2014. (Mason, now a professor and president emeritus, retired from her leadership post in August 2015.)

Mason issued a statement two days later—the same day the campus newspaper reported another assault. "We spent the next week working hard to turn things around," says Brennan, now the vice president for communications and marketing at the State University of New York's University at Albany.

The communications office worked with the university's sexual assault response team to craft a six-point plan for preventing campus sexual violence, which included some actions Iowa was already taking as well as others called for by the campus community. Brennan's team also ramped up its communications, outlining the efforts to address sexual violence and factors contributing to the campus's rising number of timely warning messages. (As mandated by the 1990 Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, postsecondary institutions must alert the university community about crimes committed on or near campus that pose a serious or continuing threat to the safety of students and/or employees.) The team prepared a letter to the editor and an FAQ resource page on sexual misconduct. They also drafted remarks for a previously scheduled presidential forum and a campuswide listening session, during which Mason would express zero tolerance for sexual misconduct. During the listening session, Mason divulged a personal experience to the 200-person crowd: As a college student, she had been groped on the street by a stranger—an attack that left her shaken and confused.

"I never want a young woman on this campus, ever in her life, not to know where to go if something like that happens to them," Mason said.

The moment was a turning point. The message, Brennan says: "It's OK to talk about something so personal."

At the Board of Regents meeting the next day, Mason unveiled the university's plan, which detailed its objectives in one brief online document that would be updated regularly to report progress toward achieving each goal.

Afterward, Brennan says, "it was less campus-versus-president. We spent less time in conflict with ourselves."

Campus communications is tough in the best of circumstances. In April 2011, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights changed the landscape when it issued a "Dear Colleague" letter explaining institutions' responsibility "to take immediate and effective steps to end sexual harassment and sexual violence." Schools, colleges, and universities that accept federal funds were put on notice that the gender-equity law known as Title IX would be more strictly enforced. The OCR placed dozens of institutions on its investigation list.

By March 2016, the list grew to more than 160. A 2014 Rolling Stone magazine article on a gang rape at the University of Virginia—which has since been debunked—heightened media scrutiny. Students and their families have grown increasingly worried about safety. According to the National Institute for Justice, one in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college; more than 90 percent of campus sexual assault survivors do not report it. In this tense and complex environment, what's a higher education communicator to do?

For answers, CURRENTS interviewed campus communicators, media relations consultants, Title IX coordinators, student affairs leaders, and sexual assault experts. Several of those contacted wouldn't speak to us. ("We're under investigation here," one said in a near whisper.)

"No one wants to talk about sexual violence," says Chantelle Cleary, a former special victims prosecutor who's now the Title IX coordinator at UAlbany. "It's not something people want to recognize."

"This issue makes communicators nervous—it's fraught, it's emotional, it's complex," Brennan says. But, he adds, the same principles of communication that you employ for other sensitive issues also apply to sexual assault.

Remain calm, listen, and understand

Different stakeholders see sexual assault differently, and that can lead to conflict. Trying to understand the multiple viewpoints is a good place to start,Brennan says, giving some examples:

• Activists believe that sexual violence is rampant and that administrators spend more time covering up than fixing the problem.
• Government officials, especially at the federal level, see it as a civil rights issue.
• Senior campus leaders see it as nuanced, complex, and not easily solvable.
• Men's groups and fraternities view it through the lens of constitutional rights. Is the campus judicial process just? Are men or fraternities dealt with fairly?
• Parents are worried about their child's safety.
• Campus safety officers and communicators have to comply with the Clery Act and notify the campus community about incidents; however, activist groups sometimes view the wording of timely warnings as victim-blaming.

Remember that your audiences also have different ideas about progress and solutions. It's important to keep talking—and keep listening.

"When students say they want change now, what that looks like for them is now. For administrators it may be four or five months away," says Teresa Valerio Parrot, founder and principal of TVP Communications, a higher education communications consultancy based in Colorado. "Lay out what can be done when, step by step. You may have a two-year plan. To a senior, so what? She's gone! To a student audience, that's half their time on campus. Treat them like adults, and show your work."

But communication can't end with the release of a plan. "Don't make it seem like the pronouncement is your ultimate strategy or the last word," Brennan says. "People need to hear that this is a work in progress."

Get your team to the table

"Our job as communicators is to listen a lot more than we do," Brennan says. Get different perspectives, both on and off campus. Do your research. Know your campus's policies and procedures. In the U.S., understand how laws such as the Clery Act, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act apply to your institution. Ensure your crisis management and response team includes many disciplines and voices—and don't wait for a crisis to build relationships or practice your process. That's the wrong time to ask: What are we going to do? How should this work?

Student Affairs is a critical component of the team, Parrot says. "When I'm called to help an institution respond to a sexual assault incident, I can tell from the first phone conversation whether the institution is going to come through the situation well," she says. The indicator? Whether the vice president of student affairs and the Title IX coordinator are on the call or in the room. "If they aren't, it doesn't bode well."

Your student affairs colleagues add valuable insight as well as "a natural humanity," Parrot says. They can reference policy and sound human at the same time. With their input, "you're prepared to give advice."

Experts recommend preparing as a team. "There's got to be coordination among key players on what can be shared," says Jane Stapleton, co-director of the Prevention Innovations Research Center, a University of New Hampshire think tank working to end sexual and relationship violence and the creator of prevention strategies and programs used by hundreds of higher education institutions. Each team member's perspective adds to effective communication.

Your campus Title IX coordinator is likely to be juggling another position, so don't just punt questions on sexual assault that direction. Such situations provide a powerful opportunity for communicators to show what they can do while supporting their colleagues, says Luoluo Hong, vice president for student affairs and enrollment management and Title IX coordinator at San Francisco State University. "It helps the campus to have multiple speakers on this subject."

Communicators also need to advise and counsel, Brennan says. "Otherwise you're just a messenger. Sometimes you need to tell people things that are uncomfortable. Think of yourself as a relationship-builder and trusted counselor."

How would your institution respond to a situation that another campus is handling now? Run tabletop drills to think through the situation.

The relationships you cultivate by working with team members will help you. Several sources mentioned a comfort level in asking colleagues how to tweak statements or in pushing back against assumptions or restrictions. "Our responses, messages, and events succeed and have been strengthened because of that partnership," says UAlbany's Cleary.

Mind your message—and your language

Whether in a drill or an actual situation, ask questions from every stakeholder perspective. Keep in mind the media's standpoint as well. What will reporters focus on? How will you respond? What will your message look and sound like? How will you communicate? Who will deliver the institution's messages?

Consider your president's role. Should he or she be out front? "When the president is silent, that says a lot," says Kevin Kruger, president of the higher education student affairs organization NASPA.

Equally important is asking: What don't we know? Answering this question before there's an issue will help identify gaps in information and determine who else should be included in your conversations and training exercises. Ideally, it will also make your communications proactive rather than reactive.

What language—describing campus policies, for instance—can you draft and adapt as needed? Consider the language you will use in timely warning messages. Words matter. Brennan and Mason were among those who weighed in when the University of Iowa traded the word victim for survivor. "We discussed how important it was to listen to the connotations," Brennan says.

At SFSU, Hong cautions against such leading language as, The victim claimed to be attacked. "Reported is much more objective," she explains. "Do we ever say, ‘He claimed to be robbed in the alley'?"

Err on the side of transparency, PIRC's Stapleton advises. No campus is immune to this issue, so why sanitize what's happening?

"Take what the public needs to know, and present it in a way that says: Yes, reports are up, and here's why, and here's what we're doing before and after," Stapleton suggests. "Parents, donors, and the community all want to know you're taking this seriously."

People are likely to be less angry if you tell them right away, says Erika Mantz, director of media relations at the University of New Hampshire. Not doing so, she adds, leads to problems later on.

"The public is better served by knowing that no institution is perfect, that you're doing your best to improve the situation, and that you welcome sunlight," says Alan Berkowitz, a psychologist and consultant who helps institutions design programs to address issues such as sexual violence and social justice. "Behavior we'd appreciate in a leader is behavior we'd appreciate in an institution as a whole."

Repetition, repetition, repetition

Administrators often assume that audiences know as much as they do about the institution's efforts to prevent sexual assault and support survivors, Stapleton says. That's not the case.

"When people are fearful, angry, or stressed, they can't take in a lot of information," Brennan says. "Keep your messages clear and simple, and be patient. People need time to absorb ideas."

Communicators sometimes think that once they've distributed a news release or posted information to the website, they're done. You can't rely on one statement to cut through the clutter that divides people's attention.

"Don't wait for a crisis to start messaging," Cleary advises. You don't want it to look like a reaction. Communicate early and often, keep restating your message, and give your audiences progress updates. But remember that you are only in control of your institution's messages.

"The challenge for communications is that either student [involved in a reported assault] can say pretty much anything," Kruger says. "The institution [is] left in this awkward position, accused of stalling or sweeping things under the rug."

Facts are your friend. Give what information you can, explain why you can't divulge certain details, and keep telling stakeholders through as many channels as possible what steps the campus is taking to prevent assaults. Share the resources that are available for survivors, as well as the processes and procedures that are in place to deal with such cases.

At the end of the day, it helps UNH's Mantz to know that she can trust her colleagues and that they trust her. You have to know that you've "done your very best for the institution, students, survivors, colleagues, and reporters."