Northwestern University Athletics Department Joins 'It Gets Better' Campaign (VIDEO)

With the nearly ubiquitous It Gets Better video campaign already making significant headway in the realm of professional sports, it stands to reason that collegiate athletic departments would follow suit.

With the release of their own It Gets Better video Friday, Northwestern University's Athletics Department appears to be the first college campus sports division to take part in the popular campaign created by columnist Dan Savage and his partner Terry Miller last fall.

The video features Northwestern Director of Athletics and Recreation Jim Phillips, as well as three of the school's head coaches -- Pat Fitzgerald (football), Kate Drohan (softball) and Claire Pollard (women's tennis). Four current Northwestern student-athletes -- Michael Thompson and John Shurna (men's basketball), Amy Jaeschke (women's basketball) and Michael Batts (softball) -- also participated in the video.

Phillips said in a statement that the department is excited "to take a stand against bullying" by creating the video, which they will also be airing on WGN-AM Radio 720 and making available to other stations that wish to use it.

"As a University and an Athletic Department, Northwestern takes great pride in celebrating each and every one of the unique individuals at our institution, whether they be students or staff. Bullying of anyone for any reason is not acceptable, and we hope others will use their voices to stand with us."

The new video is not Northwestern's first contribution to the project. In March, the Evanston, Illinois university's fraternity and sorority community collaborated to create a video of their own.

Comments

[Gay Iberian]

03:09 PM on 10/03/2011

It doesn't get better for gays until we have our civil rights!

[Paulhaider74]

07:35 AM on 09/25/2011

Northwestern, thank you for being a tolerant, progressive, and liberal campus with the good sense to make a video for "It Gets Better." I love Northwestern University and the liberal city of Evanston with all of my purple heart; I am proud to have been born in Evanston Hospital. Go, Cats, go!
Paul Haider, Chicago

[Upside]

10:21 PM on 09/24/2011

Based on the lackluster 140 year history of Northwestern football, no, it doesn't get any better.

[JeffmChicago]

08:49 PM on 09/24/2011

Thanks Northwestern, well done!

[acumenguy]

08:26 PM on 09/24/2011

Good job. Not preachy, short, to the point, not clobbering the viewer over the head. Go Cats!