Sexual Assault Awareness Month Begins April 1

Syracuse University—in partnership with student organizations, offices across campus and community partners—is hosting Sexual Assault Awareness Month throughout the month of April. The month offers educational, empowering and engaging programs and events to promote the importance of raising awareness about and supporting those impacted by sexual and relationship violence.

In honor of the month, the Hall of Languages will be lit in teal, the national color for sexual assault awareness. The campus community is encouraged to wear teal on Tuesday, April 2—Teal Tuesday—to show their support for survivors of sexual assault. University offices and departments across campus are also invited to participate in the Go Teal decorating contest. Registration to participate in the contest is due by Monday, April 15.

Several events will be held throughout the month for students, faculty and staff to learn more about campus and community resources, find empowerment and create a discussion on campus on how to help end sexual and relationship violence.

On Thursday, April 4, the Office of Equal Opportunity, Inclusion and Resolution Services (EOIRS) will host “Food for Thought,” a lunch, panel and resource fair featuring on-campus support resources for students, faculty and staff. The resource fair will be in the Schine Student Center Atrium from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The panel discussion will be in 228B Schine and will include a light lunch for attendees.

Phallacies—the comedic performance group—will return to campus on Monday, April 15, at 7:30 p.m. in Grant Auditorium. Hosted by the Sexual and Relationship Violence Student Education and Prevention Team (SEPT), Phallacies will explore healthy masculinity and relationships through various comedic sketches.

In addition to the events above, the month will feature “Surviving the Silence: A Conversation on Race and Sexual Assault” (April 3); “Getting Involved with It’s On Us SU” featuring Samantha Skaller ’17 (April 4); “Cookies and Consent” (April 5); “Yoga as Healing” (April 10 and 24); “Mindful Monday Mile” (April 15); “Miss Representation” film viewing and dialogue session (April 18); “Be Orange Student Training” (April 22); and “Spilling the Tea on Sex and Relationships” hosted by Vera House Inc. (April 23).

“I think it’s important for students to attend these events for their own well-being,” says Emily Durand ’19, a senior in the School of Education and It’s On Us at-large advisor. “I think it’s important to always challenge ourselves in these safer environments so that we can begin to be more understanding, compassionate and empowered on this campus. We can all be a part of making the culture on campus more inclusive, and I think Sexual Assault Awareness Month events really help enable that change.”

The campus community is also encouraged to continue the message from Take Back the Night and participate in the #IWillTBTN campaign all month long, sharing on social media how they will help end interpersonal violence using the hashtag. The community can follow events during the month using #SUGoesTeal on social media.

For full details on each of the events, visit the Sexual Assault Awareness Month calendar.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month is a Universitywide collaboration made possible by the Office of Health Promotion, the Counseling Center, EOIRS, the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Office of Student Assistance, the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities, the Department of Public Safety, SEPT, the Student Association, It’s On US SU, Healthy Monday Syracuse, the Panhellenic Council and Vera House Inc.