Build Understanding and Provide Support: Campus Events Around Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April
From Denim Day to Take Back the Night, here’s how you can show solidarity in taking a stand against sexual violence. And Lauren Kearney ’23 talks about taking learning one step further.
Wrapped around the trunks of some mighty trees on the Dante Quad and in front of the Saint Albert Hall Library on the Saint Mary’s campus are several teal ribbons passers-by might have noticed in recent weeks. Step a little closer, and you’ll spot a QR code. Scan it with your phone, and it will take you to a webpage with campus resources and information about Sexual Assault Awareness Month, marked nationwide every April and drawing global participation.
Over the next several weeks on the Saint Mary’s campus, students, faculty, and staff are coming together through a series of events to raise public awareness about sexual violence and educate communities on how to prevent it. These events align with activities across the country to mark the official 22nd anniversary of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. They are also part of year-round activities at SMC to build awareness and provide support in the community throughout the year.
The teal ribbons were put up by Saint Mary’s CARE Center, which stands for Campus Assault Response and Education, and the Student Coalition Against Abuse and Rape (SCAAR). “They’re a gentle reminder on a daily basis to be curious,” says Megan Gallagher, who directs the center. And a reminder to care, to be a good bystander, and to help contribute to nurturing a healthy culture—both here on campus and in the wider world. And, Gallagher says, “The more aware we are, the more we can address gender-based violence.”
Events on Campus
Campus events focused on Sexual Assault Awareness Month actually kicked off in March, with a “Safe Spring Break” session offering tips on healthy relationships and watching your alcohol use. The event was co-hosted by SMC’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Peer Advocates for Wellness (PAW), and the CARE Center. Here’s what’s coming up in April:
April 18, 5 p.m. | Self-Defense Class
5:30–8 p.m., Dante Hall 204
There are 40 spots available, and participants are required to complete a waiver to reserve a spot. For more info and to register, email scf@stmarys-ca.edu.
April 19 | Donuts for Denim Day / Cupcakes for a Cause
1 p.m., Dante Quad
Denim Day is a global movement that grew out of a 1998 Italian Supreme Court decision that blamed a survivor of sexual assault for wearing tight jeans. Women in the Italian Parliament protested by wearing jeans on the steps of the Supreme Court. Denim Day is now held around the world in April to support survivors and build awareness about all forms of sexual violence.
Hosted by the CARE Center and the Student Coalition Against Abuse and Rape (SCAAR), for this day of action and awareness, people are encouraged to wear denim to combat victim blaming and educate others about sexual violence. If you’re wearing denim, stop by Dante Quad for a free donut. All are invited to come and donate to "Cupcakes for a Cause" bake sale fundraiser, and take a look at the denim offerings from the Free Store.
April 24 | Blue Jean Mile
3 p.m. | Meet at Chapel Lawn Bus Stop
Athletes from men’s and women’s teams alike will don denim and take a lap around campus in a show of support for victims of sexual assault. But you don’t have to compete in intercollegiate athletics to participate. All members of campus—students, faculty and staff—are welcome. And you can pick up a teal T-shirt emblazoned with “Gaels Rise Against Sexual Violence” to show solidarity and support. Email here for more info.
April 26 | Take Back the Night
6:30 p.m. | Chapel Lawn to Hope Garden
This annual evening event to support survivors of sexual violence begins at the Chapel Lawn. Stop by for a light dinner, followed by an open mic opportunity and a candle-lit walk in support of survivors: from the Chapel Lawn to the Hope Garden, to conclude with a message of care and hope. “We call it the ‘Hope Walk,’” says Lauren Kearney ’23, who leads SCAAR. She’ll be there with members from SCAAR who will talk about their work, which includes facilitating interactive presentations to peers in classrooms and residence halls throughout the academic year; they act as leaders who push the conversation about gender-based violence into mainstream campus life. Those who don’t wish to speak in person but would like to share a comment or reflection are welcome to put their words in writing and place them in a dropbox, and these will be read by a SCAAR team member.
April 28 | Bystander Intervention: Green Dot Overview
1 p.m. | Garaventa Hall 140
This is the third in a series of Green Dot programs the CARE Center has hosted. The goal is to foster a community where violence is not tolerated and everyone does their part to promote a community of care and concern. Green Dot is a bystander intervention training program backed by research and used by colleges nationwide. The strategy it employs educates and empowers students, faculty, and staff to create a culture of respect.
As Megan Gallagher notes, the series builds prevention and awareness and enables participants to learn bystander skills. “And it addresses barriers to what might be getting in someone’s way,” she says. “Research shows that can help shift a culture and reduce potential harm.” The program is available for campus clubs, organizations, or departments on demand. Contact the CARE Center for more information.
“Everybody needs to do something,” Gallagher underscores. “We can always continue educating ourselves around these complicated issues.”
Take Learning One Step Further
Lauren Kearney ’23 has been leading the SCAAR team for the past year. Team members are trained on topics related to sexual assault, dating violence, stalking, consent, and bystander intervention. And Kearney is clear on her assessment that when it comes to sexual violence, many find it difficult to talk about in the way we need to.
“We don't really have conversations about it on a day to day basis,” she says. “Obviously, there are reasons for that. Those are hard conversations. We’re not expecting everyone to be able to chat about it over breakfast. But we are trying to provide spaces for those conversations to occur, and to be a catalyst for change on our campus in a way that makes these conversations more approachable for, say, 19- and 20-year-olds.”
Kearney also hopes that having these conversations will have a ripple effect far wider than the campus. “I really love the slogan you hear at Saint Mary’s: ‘Enter to learn, leave to serve,’” she says. “We're learning so much academically, whatever our field is, but we learn so much more about ourselves and the world around us. I think we do a really good job on campus with taking that one step further: by marking Sexual Assault Awareness Month—or celebrating 44 Days. These events educate beyond the boundaries of what you could read in a textbook.”
It’s a message of hope—made possible through a sense of taking responsibility and taking action—that Kearney wants to ensure others find at Saint Mary’s. “The campus community cares,” she says. “You can't always predict what's going to happen in your life or in the lives of your friends, in your community—but you can always be there to support them. You can't always predict what other people are going to do. But you can choose how you react to those things.”
From Kearney’s perspective, Take Back the Night was a major catalyst over the past year on campus for building much greater social awareness around sexual assault. “It went from being a small corner-of-the-room, quiet conversation to being a bold, in your face conversation.”
She also applauds the staffing of the Title IX Department this past year. “Just having the staff there and being able to respond to things because they're not focused on 72 other jobs. Also, the way this campus community has really shown students that they're going to listen and they're not going to judge.”
“The people who care about this community have shown it all four years I’ve been here,” says Lauren Kearney ’23. “They're going to keep showing up.”
For Kearney, that sense of support has deep personal value as well. “The community at large is what kept me happy and healthy through four years,” she says. She came to Saint Mary’s on an athletic scholarship. She ran cross country for a season before COVID hit and upended competition. While in a relationship that she describes as unhealthy, she was hesitant to talk to anyone about it at first. But she eventually found that faculty and classmates alike were willing to listen. That was huge, she says.
She recognizes that not only here but in communities anywhere, there isn’t a point where one says that, when it comes to prevention, treatment, and response to sexual assault, we’ve figured it all out and we don’t need to keep learning. Rather, you need to keep trying to get better in terms of taking care of the community and taking care of one another.
Even so, she says, “The people who care about this community have shown it all four years I’ve been here. They're going to keep showing up. They're going to keep running symposiums and having faculty chats. And I think that's what makes Saint Mary's such a special and safe community: They're always showing up.”
In May, Kearney will graduate with a degree in Women and Gender Studies. Then she heads to Ireland, where she’ll be completing a M.Phil in Gender and Women’s Studies at Trinity College in Dublin.
LEARN MORE about the CARE Center and the Student Coalition Against Abuse and Rape.
READ MORE: “Gaels Raise Awareness Against Sexual Violence with ‘Teal Out’ Games”
ALSO KNOW: This academic year Men’s Rugby and Men’s Soccer have been leading the way with participation in a program known as Coaching Boys Into Men, an evidence-based prevention program that guides young athletes to develop healthy relationship skills. Central pillars are respect, integrity, and nonviolence.
Steven Boyd Saum is Executive Director of Strategic Communications and Content at Saint Mary's. Write him.