--- ---  # Joe Biden Calls on College Students to 'Change the Culture' to Combat Sexual Assault by [Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Apr 27, 2017 12:06 AM UTC  WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 15: Former U.S. VP Joe Biden speaks after receiving the Gordon and Llura Gund Leadership Award for his commitment to accelerating cancer research through the White House Cancer Moonshot initiative at 21st Annual Research!America Advocacy Awards Dinner at Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 15: Former U.S. VP Joe Biden speaks after receiving the Gordon and Llura Gund Leadership Award for his commitment to accelerating cancer research through the White House Cancer Moonshot initiative at 21st Annual Research!America Advocacy Awards Dinner at Andrew W. Mellon AuditoriumPaul Morigi—Getty Images by [Aric Jenkins](https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/) ## Aric Jenkins Apr 27, 2017 12:06 AM UTC Former vice president [Joe Biden](http://motto.time.com/4729151/joe-biden-sexual-assault-prevention/) on Wednesday called upon college students to fight against sexual assault, urging them to intervene if they witness suspicious situations and speak out against “locker room talk.” “Change the culture,” he told a crowd at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., [according to the Washington _Post_.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2017/04/26/biden-calls-on-students-to-change-the-culture-to-fight-college-sexual-assault/?tid=sm%5Ffb&utm%5Fterm=.623c1bcbcad5) “You can do it.” Biden was at the university speaking for “It’s On Us,” a nationwide campaign aimed at stopping [sexual assault](http://motto.time.com/4716483/joe-biden-sexual-assault-campaign-its-on-us-autocorrect/) on college campuses. “College campuses are communities,” Biden said. “And the place where people’s attitudes are affected, changed, altered, impacted, are within communities.” The former vice president at times addressed men specifically, according to the _Post_. He told male audience members that a “dead drunk” woman cannot consent, otherwise “you are raping her.” He called on men to call out others for making inappropriate remarks or gestures. “You’ve got to speak up,” he told the audience, according to the _Post_. “You cannot let that kind of talk be bred on the college campus. You’ve got to do what I’ve done, what my father taught me. Turn and say, you’re a horse’s tail. Only a little more graphic.” Biden has now given 10 speeches at “It’s On Us” events, which began under President Barack Obama’s administration back in 2014\. The former vice president [penned an essay earlier this month for _Cosmopolitan_](http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/a9523840/joe-biden-sexual-assault-essay-its-on-us/) reiterating similar statements. “In my view, men’s silence when they see this happening is complicity,” he wrote. “We also know that sexual violence happens in LGBTQ communities too. It’s on Us is about changing the culture for everyone.” Joe Biden: It's On Us to Change Sexual Assault Culture ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4757002/joe-biden-its-on-us-george-mason-sexual-assault/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4757002/joe-biden-its-on-us-george-mason-sexual-assault/"},"headline":"Joe Biden Calls on College Students to 'Change the Culture' to Combat Sexual Assault","datePublished":"2017-04-27T00:06:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:05:31.543Z","description":"“You’ve got to speak up,” the former vice president urged the crowd at George Mason University","url":"https://time.com/4757002/joe-biden-its-on-us-george-mason-sexual-assault/","keywords":["motto","Joe Biden","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6e314a84dd35047/6988c2ef0b72e392d86ed598/joe-biden-sexual-assault.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Aric Jenkins","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/aric-jenkins/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf6e314a84dd35047/6988c2ef0b72e392d86ed598/joe-biden-sexual-assault.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"21st Annual Research! 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