Lectures, films and classes planned for Sexual Assault Awareness Week

Image adapted from “Naked Young Man Sitting by the Sea,” 1836, by Hippolyte Flandrin (1908-64) Louvre, Paris, with permission of France/Bridgeman Art Library – 186/8M/603/C

2:54 p.m., Sept. 24, 2003--A range of activities are planned for Sexual Assault Awareness Week, a campuswide educational initiative sponsored by the Office of Women’s Affairs.

Running from Wednesday, Oct. 8, through Thursday, Oct. 16, the week of awareness will include free events intended to educate the campus community about sexual assault crimes and the status of women in America.

Events, which run the gamut from demonstrations in assault prevention techniques to classes in belly-dancing and yoga, will take place throughout the week at various campus locations, and, with the exception of one off-campus fundraising concert, are free and open to the public.

Beginning Monday, Oct. 6, through Wednesday, Oct. 8, resource booths will be set up in the Trabant University Center to usher in the program and dispense information relating to sexual assault prevention. Then, on Oct. 8, the week of awareness will officially begin in the multipurpose room at the Trabant University Center with a 7 p.m. lecture by internationally acclaimed film critic, speaker and author Jean Kilbourne, entitled “Under the Influence: The Pushing of Alcohol via Advertising.”

At 8 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 9, a “Take Back the Night” demonstration and walk led by Noelle Roop, survivor of same-sex domestic violence, will begin from the steps at Old College and proceed to the Rodney Room at the Perkins Student Center; and from 12:20-1:10 p.m., Friday, Oct. 10, a Rape Aggression Defense demonstration will be offered in the Ewing Room at Perkins Student Center.

A “Rock Against Rape!” benefit concert is slated for the Stone Balloon on Main Street at 9 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 11. The $5 cover charge or donation of an old cellular phone will be given to the Verizons Wireless Hopeline program, an initiative designed to provide battered women with phones for emergency use.

At 8 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 12, in 004 Kirkbride Hall, guest speaker Keith Edwards, founder of MARS (Men Against Rape Society) will speak on “Men Ending Rape”; and at 8 p.m., Monday, Oct. 13, the interactive presentation “He Said—She Said,” featuring nationally acclaimed guest speakers Katie Koestner and Brett Sokolow, will be held at the Trabant University Center in the Multipurpose Room.

At noon, Tuesday, Oct. 14, a lecture on “Healing and Recovery from Sexual Violence” will be given in Room 209 of the Trabant University Center; and at 7 p.m., the documentary film “No! Using Film and Dance to Address and Heal from Assault and Rape in the Black Community” will be shown in the Trabant Theatre, followed by commentary from Aishah Shahidah Simmons and Tamara Xavier, director and co-director, respectively, of the film. The discussion will be followed by a workshop in breathing techniques designed to teach victims how to relax and move from a state of fear toward a state of empowerment.

Wednesday, Oct. 15, marks “Love Your Body Day,” the National Organization for Women’s national day of action to speak out against ads and images of women that are offensive, harmful, dangerous and disrespectful. At noon, a lecture, “A Child of Cosmopolitan Culture: The Influence of Women’s Magazines on Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones,” will be offered in Room 209 of the Trabant University Center; and a screening and discussion of the film “Redefining Liberation: Does Advertising Affect Your Health?” will follow in the same location at 1:30 p.m. At 6 p.m., a discussion on understanding the risks of breast cancer will be offered in the Blue & Gold Room in the Perkins Student Center; and at 6:30 p.m., a free yoga class will be offered in the Kirkwood Room of the Perkins Student Center for those who pre-register. The day wraps with a 7:30 p.m. screening of the 2001 film “Storytelling” in the Trabant Theatre at the Trabant University Center.

On Thursday, Oct. 16, Sexual Assault Awareness Week concludes with a free belly-dancing class at 5:30 p.m. in Room 049 of Memorial Hall and a 7 p.m. showing in the Trabant Theatre of the 2000 film “Killing Us Softly 3.”

Sexual Assault Awareness Week is sponsored, in part, by Verizon, the Delaware Clothesline Project, the Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Center for Black Culture and UD’s Department of Public Safety. For a complete list of sponsors and further information on Sexual Assault Awareness Week, call the Office of Women’s Affairs at 831-8063 or visit the web site at [www.udel.edu/OWA/events.html]. To register for the free yoga class on Wednesday, Oct. 15, e-mail [cjsmith@udel.edu].

Article by Becca Hutchinson

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