STUDENT ADVOCATES FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT PREVENTION
Selma Newbill has many things to be proud of. She is a Forbes 30 Under 30 Scholar, an ambassador for the Honors College and was recently named a 2020 finalist for the Harry S. Truman Scholarship.
But out of all these accomplishments, Newbill is most proud of creating the Sexual Assault Prevention Ambassadors, which she described as being the most rewarding experience of her life.
Newbill, junior political science and English double major, first got the idea to create SAPA in 2017, first got the idea to create SAPA after she was sexually assaulted during her first semester at Southern Miss.
“I went to somebody to talk to about it and they said ‘What were you wearing? Were you drunk? Why were you out at 8 o’clock at night?’ And I said, ‘Not that it matters, but I was studying for my midterms, in the library, sober, wearing a t-shirt and shorts’ and I got up and left,” Newbill said.
Knowing that she wasn’t the only one this has happened to, Newbill looked for any organizations on campus related to sexual assault, only to find nothing.
She then created SAPA, which won Best New Student Organization in 2018 and has grown to have 85 members.
Members are required to undergo Green Dot Bystander Intervention training, which educates people on how to safely intervene in cases of sexual assault or violence. Because of them, Housing and Residence Life now require their professional staff to also undergo training. Newbill and SAPA have also influenced changes in the way UPD handles sexual assault cases.
Newbill said that she has seen a noticeable difference in the way sexual assault is viewed on campus since the creation of SAPA.
“I think SAPA has changed a lot of things. I’ve seen people become more accepting. I’ve seen a lot of survivors tell me that it’s saved them and healed them,” Newbill said.
Bella Brocato, a sophomore political science major, serves as the lead facilitator for SAPA and said that becoming a member of SAPA and becoming friends with Newbill has changed her for the better.
“She is a really good role model, not just for me, but for everyone. She has motivated me to become a better person and leader and I feel like we’ve accomplished a lot through SAPA,” Brocato said.
One of the defining moments of Newbill and SAPA was last February when Southern Miss considered hiring Art Briles, who was fired as head coach at Baylor amidst a sexual assault scandal involving several players.
Newbill took the issue seriously due to the progress she’d seen the university and SAPA make regarding its views on sexual assault and didn’t want that change.
Newbill said she spent three days contacting everyone she could at the university to try to make her voice heard and stop the hiring from happening. Her efforts eventually got her a meeting with Southern Miss President Rodney Bennett, Ph.D.
“He really wanted to hear what I had to say,” Newbill said. “He wanted to listen to me and he ended up talking to me about the problem and he was very understanding that I was trying to represent other people, not just myself and my interests. And when he didn’t get hired, that was amazing.”
Since then, Newbill now meets with Bennett every semester to discuss SAPA and what the university can do to prevent assaults.
In April of that same semester, SAPA held its first Denim Day, which encourages people to wear jeans to bring awareness to sexual assault. Newbill said the event is observed worldwide, but not very common in the South, and wanted to host the day at Southern Miss.
Newbill spoke about the event with Bennett, who offered his support and to publicize the event with staff and faculty.
“He showed up in his sports coat and jeans on that day. All of Student Affairs and Moffit were in jeans and they were posting it online. It was just amazing,” Newbill said.
Soon after, the Division of Student Affairs created the Selma Newbill Pursuit of Passion Award and awarded it to Newbill.
“I didn’t stop where I think a lot of people probably would have. Dr. Dee Dee Anderson presented me with that award and I was so thankful,” Newbill said.
Project Director for Nationally Competitive Programs Carlee Causey worked with Newbill on her application for the Truman Scholarship and said that Newbill has reignited her passion for social change.
"She’s united a campus around a difficult topic, working hard to include everyone in the conversation, and from that, we have seen a culture change, we’ve seen policies and training improve, and we’ve seen what work still remains. But as a campus, we are aware and working diligently to move in the right direction. Selma makes sure of that," Causey said.
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Causey said she expects to see Newbill continue serving others in the future and making a change in the world.
“Selma is equal parts passion and compassion,” Causey said. “She is boldly fighting this difficult, personal fight of sexual assault prevention and awareness, and she cares deeply for those around her and is intent on including them in her work and/or supporting them in whatever battle they’re fighting.”
In the future, Newbill said she wants to keep advocating for sexual assault prevention by working in policy and starting her own non-profit for sexual assault survivors.
Newbill said that although it can be hard to make a difference, anyone who wants to work towards a change in their community should just follow their dreams and passions.
“It can be hard to make a tangible difference and I still feel like I’m fighting a fight that I still lose sometimes, but the reality is that I’m not and that I was making a difference when there were only five people in SAPA.”