Rice to host Sexual Assault Awareness Week April 7-10

Rice’s Student Wellbeing Office, the Rice Counseling Center and the Rice Women’s Resource Center will host an event each day of Sexual Assault Awareness Week April 7-10. All events are open to the campus community.

On April 7 a resource table will be set up in the Rice Memorial Center from 1 to 3 p.m. to provide information on the week’s events. In addition, the Femalempowerment Alternative Spring Break will provide resources and information on domestic and dating violence.

The teal ribbon is the international symbol for sexual assault and sexual violence awareness and support.

On April 8 Project SAFE (Sexual-Assault-Free Environment) at Rice will host bystander intervention training from 6 to 8 p.m. in Duncan College’s Game Theory Room. This training offers a condensed education on sexual violence and focuses on the role all students can take as bystanders or active stakeholders who can help keep the community SAFE. Rice Wellbeing and Counseling staff and experts from the Houston Area Women’s Center (HAWC) will engage students through this interactive workshop, which will incorporate education, discussion, Rice-specific scenarios and video. To register for this session, visit https://signup.rice.edu/projectsafe/.

In conjunction with Project SAFE, Rice Police Chief Johnny Whitehead recommended some safety reminders to help keep students safe in the residential colleges: Don’t open the main doors for someone who doesn’t have a current student I.D. or allow a stranger to slip inside the building when you’re opening the door for yourself. Keep your doors locked both for your own safety and for the safety of others with whom you share space. This is especially important if your room connects to other rooms through common areas or a bathroom. The two students who were assaulted recently had locked their doors, but their assailant was able to enter through other unlocked doors.

On April 9 a screening of the “PACT5” project, a national campaign to raise awareness about sexual assault and rape on college campuses, will take place from 8 to 9 p.m. in Room 123 of the Humanities Building. Student Wellbeing Office staff members will facilitate a discussion following the screening.

“Take Back the Night,” a march for survivors and victims of sexual violence, will take place April 10 at 8 p.m. The event will kick off with a keynote speech by Houston City Councilmember and former CEO of HAWC Ellen Cohen. The march across campus will culminate at Willy’s Statue. To learn more about the Take Back the Night organization, visit www.takebackthenight.org.

For more information on the week’s events, visit http://wellbeing.rice.edu/sexualassaultawarenessweek14.