McCluskey Center for Violence Prevention Research & Education

“I would never do that!” And other falsehoods we tell ourselves about causing harm. 

By Tillie Powell, Graduate Assistant What happens when we assume harm only comes from “bad people” What do you think of when you think of a perpetrator?  If I were to guess, I’d assume that what comes to mind is not someone who is a good friend, dependable sibling, strong student, or loyal partner. It […]

By Becca Clarke, Student Staff It was a Sunday night, the fall semester of my freshman year of high school. I attended a youth Bible seminar with my best friend, because growing up in the Bible Belt of the South, that’s what you did to socialize. We sat in the back row with a couple […]

Virginity

By Tillie Powell, Graduate Assistant Are you a virgin?  The answer to this question shouldn’t really matter. It’s personal and private, and hopefully, whether or not someone has had sex is far from the most interesting thing about them.  Yet, while all this is true, the ways that we think about and even experience virginity […]

The Myth of Queer Safety

Unpacking harm within queer relationships and communities By Tillie Powell, Graduate Assistant When I tell other women that I’m a lesbian, I often get responses that fall in the box of, “You’re so lucky!”  “I wish I was gay!”  “If it weren’t for my boyfriend, I’d be a lesbian too.”  “Being a lesbian must be […]

Hazing – Let’s Call It What It Is

By Tillie Powell, Graduate Assistant You might’ve seen that Sigma Nu was recently kicked off the row at the U for hazing and violating university policies. Greek life is often a topic in conversations surrounding violence, including sexual violence. Most of the time, though, that conversation focuses on what happens at parties—alcohol, drugs, women looking […]

From Noise to Silence: My First Frat Party Taught Me More About Harm than Fun

By Kaley Kavanaugh, Student Staff Member Everyone said I had to go. It was my first semester of freshman year, and the message was clear… frat parties were how you made friends, how you “did” college, how you proved you weren’t lame. People promised me I’d regret it if I stayed home, that the parties […]

What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Stalking

By Tillie Powell, Graduate Assistant Stalking is the word to describe the activities of the Joe Goldbergs (the protagonist of Netflix’s You, whose behaviors include egregiously and maliciously intruding upon the lives of multiple individuals, often ending in their demise. And probably more, I stopped watching after the third season.) of the world, right? Well… […]

A Farewell from Chris

By Dr. Chris Linder, MCVP Director (Center origin – May 2025) On October 22, 2018, Lauren McCluskey was tragically murdered on campus by a man she had briefly dated. It was my first fall as a faculty member at the University of Utah, though I was no stranger to intimate partner violence. I will always […]

Dreaming for More Than Punishment: Understanding People Who Cause Harm and Abolition

By Tillie Powell, Graduate Assistant   “Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.” – Bryan Stevenson   Outside of my time at the MCVP, I am a graduate student in social work and an intern at a community mental health clinic. My experiences in the mental health world, most often […]

Resting to End Sexual Violence

By Jilly Mcbane, student staff member “Don’t you ever take a break?” For many of us college students, taking a break can seem like the last thing we want to do. It can feel like we can’t take a break before we’ve registered for classes, gotten an A on our exam, written our thesis, and […]