By RAEGAN NEUFELD
Tiger Media Network
Two campus organizations are educating students with a Denim Day display for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
The Fort Hays Student Government Association and Panhellenic Council worked together to sponsor the event. According to SGA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director Joanna Carrillo and Panhellenic Council President Molly Ricke, they want to dispel misconceptions surrounding sexual assault and show that it can happen to anyone.
“We wanted to bring light to who it happens to,” Ricke said. “There are a lot of misconceptions that it only happens to women. We have so much research that says it does happen to men, too.”
The display features jeans decorated with various messages and information about Denim Day. An international event, it was started in the 1990s. Protestors wore jeans to challenge the idea that a victim’s clothing has anything to do with sexual assault.
Another part of the display is ‘Denim Stories.’ The stories tell of individual’s experiences with sexual assault and how it has affected them.
“They’re stories that students submitted here on campus,” Carrillo said. “They’re not just isolated events, it can happen anywhere.”
Ricke said the stories can help create a sense of community and support.
“A lot of people can, unfortunately, relate to having a sexual assault experience,” she said. “When more of us come out with stories, it makes people want to come out with their story. I think it makes it a little less lonely when you have more experiences to relate to.”
The jeans and information will be on display again from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. tomorrow on the Quad.
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