The “It’s On Us” campaign announced Wednesday during a conference call the “Til It Happens To You: Sing for Survivors Contest,” an a cappella contest designed to raise awareness about sexual assault prevention.

“The Hunting Ground,” a documentary about sexual assault on college campuses, has partnered with ROK Mobile, a wireless mobile and music provider, and the “It’s On Us” campaign to launch the competition.

“It’s On Us” is a campaign that was launched by President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden in September 2014 to prevent sexual assault on college campuses and encourage members of the campus community to sign a pledge to not be bystanders.

Biden, an alumnus of the Syracuse University College of Law, spoke at SU in Goldstein Auditorium inside the Schine Student Center on Nov. 12, 2015, as part of the “It’s On Us” National Week of Action.

Through the a cappella contest, people are encouraged to submit videos of themselves singing their own rendition of “Til It Happens To You,” the Oscar-nominated song featured in “The Hunting Ground.”

“Til It Happens To You” was originally written and performed by Diane Warren, a Grammy-award winning American songwriter and one of the celebrity judges for the contest, and Lady Gaga.

Warren said on the conference call that the song has become “an anthem for the movement.”

Bonnie Greenberg, the music supervisor for “The Hunting Ground” and another one of the celebrity judges for the contest, said on the conference call that a lot of people have said the song resonates with them.

“The lyrics of the song, the power of the song is really moving people,” Greenberg said.

She added that after the song was released, “It’s On Us” saw a spike in people calling the sexual assault hotline.

Other celebrity judges of the a cappella contest include LL Cool J, a two-time Grammy Award winner, recording artist and actor; Trudy Green, a musical artist manager; Catherine Hardwicke, the director of “Twilight;” Cynthia Germanotta, Lady Gaga’s mother; Pentatonix, Platinum-selling recording artists and a cappella group; and David Foster, a 16-time Grammy winner.

The winning team will win a Skype session with Pentatonix, a Video Master Class and discussion with Warren and Foster and a video chat session with Greenberg and Green, according to “The Hunting Ground” website.

In addition, the winning video will be shared by ROK Mobile, the first wireless provider in the United States to offer both mobile and music services, according to the website.

Published on January 27, 2016 at 10:52 pm

Contact Sara: smswann@syr.edu | @saramswann