From Our Founder and CEO: Dear College Students

I founded Every Two Minutes because I am tired.  

I am tired of parents sending their daughters off to college with a hug & kiss goodbye and stern “Remember to always cover your drink” and “Don’t walk alone” warnings, yet don’t utter a peep about consent to their college-bound sons (if you still believe these warnings actually reduce violence against women, I have some sobering news for you. Here’s a step by step guide on how to talk to your daughters the right way). Even more upsetting are research-based academic institutions continuing to spew this advice when they know better.

I am tired of schools refusing to make accommodations for students after their assaults. From what I’ve seen, read, and heard directly from students, schools care more about compliance and money than about the wellbeing of their students, faculty, and staff. Students, especially those who are marginalized, are being left behind by their schools despite billion-dollar endowments and the promise of a brighter, better future. 

I am tired of seeing students resorting to creating Twitter accounts to anonymously out predators attending their school as a last resort because their university is doing nothing. 

I’m tired of the former Secretary of Education’s primary agenda to make colleges into safe havens for predators and rapists and refuse to protect students simply because of who they are.

I am tired of women mentally bracing themselves for the harassment they will endure just to go outside and get some exercise and fresh air. I am tired of car keys doubling as weapons every time women walk out the door and into the world. I am tired of “victim responsible & blaming” gadgets and tech popping up as band-aids, instead of tackling the core systemic issues that perpetuate sexual violence. 

I am tired of men being silenced and told that they cannot be raped, that they wanted it, or because they are gay or must be gay. I am tired of alcohol––instead of rapists––being blamed for an assault.

I am tired that I have to tell you that by the time you are done reading this sentence, one person has experienced sexual violence.* Just imagine if that is someone you know and love. It easily could be. 

I also founded MySideKick because I know that we can leverage next-generation technology to tackle gender-based violence. This is a public health epidemic and it has been for decades. It boggles my mind that archaic technology and analog methodology continues to be utilized to address a problem facing Gen Z, digital-native college students. Let’s all be real, those analog methodologies weren’t really working in the first place, yet people are still churning out the same “education,” expecting different results.  That’s the definition of insanity, y’all. 

My passion for combating violence runs in the family. My father has a black belt in jiu-jitsu and created a self-defense program for women in the early-80s. His VHS tape was nationally distributed and thousands of women attended his seminars. I grew up acutely aware that the overwhelming responsibility to stay safe fell upon the shoulders of potential victims. No one at that time was tackling cultural change or getting to the real root of this problem.  

Self-defense is not the way to stop gender-based violence in its tracks. Those were the analog days. We had limited resources and research at our disposal. It was before the Violence Against Women Act.  It was before Tarana Burke said #Metoo in 2006. It was before Chanel Miller was even born. Spousal rape wasn’t even a crime in the majority of states in the U.S.

I’m stepping up in the modern age. I’m leading the fight for a better culture by harnessing the power of digital technology. We need to change our culture. We practice conscientious data collection because it matters. I believe in a world where women and marginalized communities can be safe online and IRL. Most importantly, I believe that college students should be chasing their dreams, not running from sexual predators. 

If you are a college or high school student reading this, you are part of the Generation of Disruptors.  I made MySideKick to accelerate the work that I already see happening on campuses and online from college students and young people. We’re democratizing access to information and giving students (yes, you) the opportunity to scale a cultural movement. 

Every Two Minutes respects student voices. We practice conscientious data collection to ensure students’ autonomy and privacy.  We are transferring the power from paper-pushers to change-makers –– to the new decision-makers.  Every Two Minutes and MySideKick literally put the power in your hands. 

So go out and spread the word.  You’ve got a system to dismantle.

Erin Rose

Founder & CEO

Follow @mysidekick

Program Benefits

• Never lose track of your friends or have your friends lose track of you again! Create and save private friend groups, visually locating everyone on a map.
• Find your friends in a crowded space like a tailgate or music festival by turning your phone to the side and let the Augmented Reality (AR) find your friends for you
• When you and your friends decide to call it a night, automatically receive notifications when you and your friends arrive to their destinations (no manual checking in required)
• Anonymously report and receive alerts on a map in real-time of problematic incidents happening in and around campus
• Peer to peer sexual assault prevention education created by students for students 
• Trauma-Informed crisis information that is easy to navigate when you need help quickly
• Confidential resources for survivor anonymity
• Specialized emergency services for when you are studying abroad

Fraternities

Social activities and parties are an important part of being in a fraternity and greek life. Nobody wants to be the house that hosts parties that make women feel unsafe, to have their houses’ social activities revoked, or to be kicked off campus entirely (or you out of school).

We created a comprehensive web based program, with a mobile infrastruce
for convenience and ease of use, that will increase the quality of your greek experience and protect you, your guests, and your chapter’s longevity on campus.

Program Benefits

• No more handwritten attendance lists! Streamline your event creation and guest lists. Let the app automatically check-in guests for you using geo-location services for fraternity parties, socials, and house meetings. Pre-populated Risk Manager forms and RSVP list for National Chapter/Panhellenic/IFC submission
• Visually identify who the party monitors are prior to and while attending Greek activities. Communicate with party monitors privately through our chat feature when problems or dangerous situations arise. Use augmented reality to locate these monitors in a crowd
• Bystander Intervention Training for Greek life party monitors
• Never lose track of your friends or have your friends lose track of you again! Create and save private friend groups, visually locating everyone on a map, no matter if you use an Apple or Android phone
• Find your friends in a crowded space like a tailgate or music festival by turning your phone to the side and let the Augmented Reality (AR) find your friends for you
• When you and your friends decide to call it a night, automatically receive notifications when you and your friends arrive to their destinations (no manual checking in required)
• Be alerted to hazardous situations while out and anonymously warn others by pinning incidents on a map. Option to report anonymously to campus safety
• Peer to peer sexual assault prevention education created by students for students in Duke University Greek Life
• Trauma-Informed Crisis Information that is easy to navigate when you need help quickly
• Confidential resources for survivor anonymity
• Specialized emergency services for when you are studying abroad

Program Benefits

• Your child will never lose track of their friends and their friends will never lose track of them, again! We created a more robust version of Apple’s Find My Friends that incorporates the power of of Augmented Reality (AR)
• When your child and their friends decide to call it a night, they automatically receive notifications when your child and their friends arrive to their destinations (no manual checking in required)
• Peer to peer sexual assault prevention education created by students for students
• Bystander intervention training for Greek life party monitors
• Trauma-Informed crisis information that is easy to navigate when your child needs help quickly
• Confidential resources for survivor anonymity
• Specialized emergency services for students studying abroad, including dedicated language translators
• On-Demand resource for when your child or their friends have had too much to drink or their beverage has been spiked with drugs. We provide a visual resource to educate the responder and what to do during this type of emergency. Many college students don’t get the proper medical attention in a timely manner because they are fearful of getting in trouble with law enforcement and the university. In states with medical amnesty laws, we also provide the law in layman’s terms and why it is important to get help quickly and to stay with the person having a medical emergency