'Fight Like a Girl' at USU’s Red Zone Sexual Assault Awareness Day Sept. 24
USU’s Sexual Assault and Anti-Violence Information (SAAVI) office gets a boost from the Oxygen network, Comcast and the USU Police Department, along with campus and community sponsors, to help Aggies learn about sexual assault issues and ways to prevent violence.
During USU’s annual Red Zone Day Monday, Sept. 24, students, faculty and staff are invited to visit a variety of exhibits from 10 a.m.–1:30 p.m. on the Taggart Student Center patio. Hosted by SAAVI, USU Counseling Center, USU Police, CAPSA, Planned Parenthood, Oxygen, Comcast and more, the exhibits are aimed at building awareness of campus and community resources for education and assistance. Visitors can also register to win gift certificates.
“Sexual assault isn’t a comfortable topic for most people,” says Rachel Brighton, SAAVI coordinator. “But we’re trying to spread the message, in a variety of ways, that violence prevention requires awareness and involvement from all of us.”
Also on Sept. 24, USU female students, faculty and staff are invited to participate in free self-defense demonstrations led by Sgt. Joe Huish of the USU Police Department. In two separate sessions, from noon-1 p.m. and from 1-2 p.m., Huish will demonstrate techniques offered year-round in the department’s Rape Aggression Defense or “RAD” classes. Demonstrations will be held in the TSC’s second floor West Colony Room.
Through their nationwide “Fight Like a Girl” self-defense awareness campaign, Oxygen and Comcast are offering Aggie women who participate in the demonstrations free prize bags as well as entry in a drawing to win a free iPhone.
Space for the Sept. 24 demonstrations is limited. Participants should sign up in advance, starting at 10 a.m. that day, at the Oxygen and Comcast booth on the TSC patio.
For Aggie men, SAAVI hosts a presentation by USU’s One-in-Four chapter, also on Sept. 24, at 2:30 p.m. in the TSC auditorium. “The Men’s Program: How to Help a Sexual Assault Survivor – What Men Can Do,” is a 45-minute, multi-media presentation and discussion focused on ways men can help rape survivors and prevent sexual assault. The presentation is open to students, faculty and staff.
Presentation attendees have the opportunity to win a $50 gift certificate to Hamilton’s Steak and Seafood Restaurant in Logan.
Due to the serious and candid nature of the subject matter presented in “The Men’s Program,” viewer discretion is advised. The presentation includes a police training video, which contains language and images some viewers may find offensive.
Aggies need to be aware that the “Red Zone” is the time of year when college students are at highest risk of sexual assault, says Brighton. The period extends from early August, when coeds first arrive on campus, through November’s Thanksgiving break.
“Freshmen women are particularly vulnerable, as they are encountering exciting, new social opportunities and many are adjusting to life away from their parents’ homes for the first time,” she says.
A 2006 study by the U.S. Department of Justice found that rape is the most common violent crime on American college campuses. A study released last year by the Utah Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice found that one in eight Utah women will be raped, and one in three will experience some other form of sexual assault. The same study noted that only 8.6 percent of Utah victims were attacked by a stranger. Most victims were acquainted with the perpetrator.
“Though it isn’t pleasant to acknowledge, date and acquaintance rape really does happen to people we know by people we know,” Brighton says. “And both women and men can be victims of sexual violence.”
Brighton offers these tips and insights:
- Be independent and aware on dates and in social situations. Think about appropriate places to meet, and express your opinions on where to go. Avoid secluded places. Be able to get yourself home or to a safe place. Always let friends or family know where you are.
- Be assertive: Do not allow politeness, fear of hurting someone’s feelings or accusations that you have “led someone on” trap you into a dangerous situation.
- Know your sexual boundaries and clearly communicate them.
- Alcohol, along with verbal and physical force, is the most common weapon used in rape. Alcohol impairs your ability to consent to sexual activity and resist unwanted sexual contact.
- When initiating sexual intimacy, pay close attention to what your partner feels comfortable with. If your partner freezes up, it’s a good indication that you need to stop, ask and clarify.
- If you say “no,” say it like you mean it, and if you hear “no,” listen to it and stop.
- Don’t be a silent bystander: If you see someone in a potentially dangerous situation, speak up or get help.
- Men: When you see another man behaving in a questionable manner toward a woman or hear “locker room talk” that degrades women, speak up and communicate disapproval. Chances are that others feel the same way you do.
Utah State is the only college or university in the state with a full-time position dedicated to sexual assault prevention. USU’s One-in-Four chapter is part of a nationwide collegiate network of all-male, peer education groups geared to preventing sexual violence on campus. Utah State’s chapter is the only One-in-Four group in the state and the first chapter established in the Intermountain West. The group takes its name from a U.S. Justice Department study that estimates the number of college women who have experienced rape or attempted rape since the age of 14.
SAAVI sponsors include the USU Vice President for Student Services and USU’s College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
For more information about Red Zone Day, One-in-Four and other sexual assault prevention resources at USU, visit the SAAVI Web site.
Related links:
Contact: Rachel Brighton [rbrighton@cc.usu.edu], 435-797-1510
Writer: Mary-Ann Muffoletto [maryann.muffoletto@usu.edu], 435-797-1429
The Oxygen network and Comcast lend a hand to the USU SAAVI's Office annual Red Zone Sexual Assault Awareness Day activities Sept. 24.
Join fellow Aggies at the Red Zone Day exhibits Sept. 24 on the TSC patio.
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