This op-ed was written by Katherine Valde, University of Iowa undergraduate student body president, Randy Nessler, staff council president, Erika Lawrence, Faculty Senate president, and Ben Gillig, graduate and professional student body president. It has also been shared with local and regional media outlets.

Sexual assault is a violent and inexcusable crime that victimizes both women and men. Even one on our campus is too many. Over the last week there has been much attention given to the ongoing discussions about uptick in reporting of this terrible crime at the University of Iowa.

President Mason may have spoken unartfully last week. She has since both clarified her statements and apologized. Let’s move forward.

We believe the university has made progress in recent years, particularly in the area of survivor support. The Rape Victim Advocacy Program (RVAP) provides 24/7 support and counseling, and a network of resources have been deployed to assist survivors and provide dignity amidst unspeakable trauma.

These support systems seem to be working. More survivors are coming forward, which helps explain the number of warning emails sent to students this year. This is a sign of progress, and a testament to the good work of RVAP and others.

The university is also taking steps on violence prevention. All students, faculty, and staff are required to take and pass an online class, and the university hired a sexual misconduct response coordinator and reworked its discipline policies well before it was required by law. But we can do more: additional staff are needed to coordinate violence prevention efforts.

It’s going to take a whole-community approach to make progress on this issue.

The University of Iowa has done exemplary work, which is as of yet insufficient to fully address the bane of sexual assault on campus. These aren’t contradictory sentiments: the university, and President Mason, should be applauded for the work that’s already been done, and supported in their efforts to make further improvements.

This is going to take all of us, so the sooner we unite as a community around this issue, the better.