UAFS events to raise awareness about sexual assault
The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith has planned 10 events to educate students about sexual assault.
The events are a part of April's Sexual Assault Awareness Month, "an annual campaign coordinated by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center to raise public awareness about sexual assault and educate communities on how to identify and prevent it," according to a press release.
“So sexual assault it impacts every demographic, and so sexual assault awareness month gives us a dedicated opportunity for the university, for UAFS, to bring attention to sexual assault and all forms of gender-based violence by putting that spotlight on a very sensitive topic that people usually don’t want to discuss," said Kathryn Janz, the deputy Title IX coordinator for students.
The events were coordinated by a group of faculty, staff and students. The university had three events aimed at raising awareness of sexual assault Wednesday.
The next upcoming event is the Teal Tailgate from noon to 2 p.m. Friday at the UAFS Stubblefield Center Patio. There will be burgers, and the first 100 students will get Sexual Assault Awareness Month T-shirts.
Most of the events are geared toward discussing sexual assault.
“Every generation of college students faces anew the challenging areas of human interaction and behavior addressed by Title IX,” said Lee Krehbiel, vice chancellor for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management and Chief Title IX Officer. "These matters profoundly affect the experience and success of college students, and indeed affect who they become. Thus, these conversations must continue. That said, while government regulations and laws such as Title IX are important, they can never truly impact individuals in ways that shape the entirety of their lives, the way larger traditions and experiences of wisdom can. Conversations about who we are as humans and how we ought to relate to one another are profoundly significant and influential. In that light, I commend to the campus community for these Sexual Assault Awareness month events.”
Alex Gladden is a University of Arkansas graduate. She previously reported for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and The Jonesboro Sun before joining the Times Record. She can be contacted at agladden@swtimes.com.
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: UAFS plans events to raise awareness about sexual assault
