On Wednesday, March 30, there will be two campus events to discuss sexual violence and give students an opportunity to have their opinions heard. The first event,  at Thomas Plaza at 10:10 a.m.,  will be in a Jubilee Spectrum style format, where a prompt will be stated and students asked to arrange themselves on lines designated strongly disagree to strongly agree. Prompts may include statements such as: “Society believes men can experience sexual violence” and “The process of reporting sexual violence is too complicated and overwhelming to be effective.” After each prompt, there will be a chance for students to discuss why they chose that spot, as well as education about each issue. 

The Talkback is  from 5-6 p.m. in Common Grounds. During this time, we will provide a quick recap of the morning event and welcome a small group of  students to have a facilitated discussion on sexual violence as it relates to EMU’s campus culture with opportunities for audience participation. We will close out with a recap of the resources accessible to students at EMU and the importance of being an active bystander. Because both events include topics that may be triggering, there will be a counselor in attendance in the morning and evening. We also encourage students to participate to the extent that is comfortable for them and to step out at any time. Each event is worth one convocation point! 

These events are being put on by students from SOWK 360 (Race and Gender) as part of a social change project. From this project, we hope to help destigmatize discussions of sexual violence and promote education on the topic. We also hope to help develop a sense of support for anyone reporting instances of sexual violence and make resources more well known and accessible for students.