Sexual Assault Awareness Week Starts Monday, April 2
JONESBORO – The latest Pack Pact sexual assault awareness campaign event, Sexual Assault Awareness Week, begins Monday, April 2, and continues through April 6 at Arkansas State University.
The Title IX office is coordinating the second annual event and partnering with other campus areas to host speakers, discussions and activities.
Unveiling of the awareness and memory "jean pocket quilt" will be Monday at 10 a.m. in the Carl R. Reng Student Union. Made from denim pockets by students and faculty in the Department of Art and Design, the art installation will hang in the Student Union throughout the spring semester.
Everyone is invited to write notes of support to survivors, or survivors may discuss their own experiences, and leave them in the pockets.
Sexual assault survivor Tim Mousseau will bring the week's keynote address Monday afternoon. His topic is "Change the Conversation about Sexual Assault."
The event, a major facet of A-State’s Pack Pact campaign, will begin at 3 p.m. at the Student Union Auditorium. Admission is free and all members of the university community – students, faculty and staff – are invited to attend.
Starting with his own experience as a victim of sexual assault, Mousseau is in high demand as a speaker for college and university students, sharing his message on how to empower a supportive campus culture focused on reducing sexual assault and promoting healthy prevention. Details are online.
Other events scheduled during the week:
-- Tuesday, April 3: "Spin the Wheel" information booth and prizes, 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., open court area, Student Union.
-- Tuesday, April 3: "Does no REALLY mean no?" an open discussion about related topics such as consent and intimate relationships, 6-8 p.m. in Room 3003 of the Student Union. The Black Student Association, Multicultural Center and Circle of Trust are partnering in this event.
-- Wednesday, April 4: Health Fair with educational resources and giveaways, 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., Centennial Hall of the Student Union.
-- Wednesday, April 4: Breakout session from the Health Fair, a seminar on the impact of sexual assault on mental and physical health, 1-2 p.m., Student Union third floor. The Counseling Center and Family Crisis Center Inc. are leading the program.
-- Wednesday, April 4: The "Tunnel of Oppression" as related to sexual assault issues will be 2-5 p.m. in the Cache River Room, third floor, Student Union.
-- Thursday, April 5: Information booth, 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., in the open court area of the Student Union.
The Pact Fact Walk on Tuesday, March 13, was a lead-up to Sexual Assault Awareness week. The campus walk of unity with survivors followed a trail of sexual assault statistics on their mile-and-a-half walk.
The Pack Pact to Act for Change Together at Arkansas State is a series of events throughout the spring 2018 semester designed to raise awareness of the issues of sexual assault and to work toward positive changes within the culture.
The Pact calls on all members of the A-State community to act with integrity and respect, to not be a bystander, and to positively change the culture because Every Red Wolf Counts. It encourages everyone to work for the well-being of the entire campus community.
To learn more and see videos from students, faculty and staff, one may go online to AState.edu/PackPact.
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