April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), and each year the Office of Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance (VPVA) host a variety of passive and immersive programs designed to help our campus members—staff, faculty, and students—learn more about how sexual violence presents itself within our community, understand how to support survivors, and better equip ourselves with resources to serve survivors within our lives.
Wednesday, April 6 is Turn the Campus Teal. On this day, VPVA is asking our campus to join us in showing their support of survivors and identifying yourself as an ally, by wearing teal.
Thursday, April 7 is Take Back The Night, VPVA’s trademark event. Join VPVA and countless students and departments in an evening of empowerment and advocacy as we rally on the plaza, march the campus and host an open mic for survivors and allies to share their stories and words of encouragement. Poster making begins at 5:30pm, event begins at 6:30pm-9:30pm on Samuels Plaza.
Monday, April 4 – Friday, April 15 is our Survivor Flag Project at Samuels Plaza. Over 1,400 flags will visually represent the statistic that 11.2% of college students (graduate and undergraduate) experience sexual violence. Survivors who wish to identify anonymously can place a colored flag next to a white one.
Wednesday, April 27 is Denim Day, in which we wear denim in an act of solidarity against victim blaming. Find VPVA in PRCC (or on the plaza if the weather allows!) from 2:00pm-4:00pm to see our showcase of clothing worn by survivors when they were assaulted, as well as a collection of denim from VPVA departments across all 4 RU campuses.
And don’t forget to stop by Starbucks to grab a hot drink with an extra splash of color – teal coffee sleeves are an extra way to show your support of survivors this April.
As always, students can reach out to VPVA’s FREE, confidential, and anonymous text-based helpline 7 days a week, 10am-3pm & 5pm-10pm.