Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2018)
CLACKAMAS PRINT Editorial BY JEANETTE WRIGHT NEWS EDITOR One in five women experience sexual assault. Fifty percent o f tran sgend er in d ivid uals experience sexual violence.One in 33 m en experience rape or attempted rape in their lifetime. W ith statistics like these, reported by the Bureau o f Justice and the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, recognizing the importance of sexual assault awareness is the key to building safe, healthy communities. C la c k a m a s ^ C o m m u n ity C o lle g e , a lo n g w ith the CCC Associated Student G overn m en t and the Title IX team have taken it upon themselves to organize awareness events throughout the month of April. Sexual A ssault Aw areness M onth (SAAM) is a nationally reco gn ized tim e to raise awareness o f the issues every com m unity faces because o f sexual violence. r Even with high statistics such as these, the actual numbers are even higher - underreporting assault is com m on am ong both men and women, hut it is especially prevalent in men. “ I t ’ s im p o r t a n t . I t ’ s happening in our community. I t ’ s h a p p e n in g to people you know. I t ’s happening to your sisters, your frien d s, your m o m s ,” said C C C Administrative Assistant Emilie Azorr. “ It happens to everyone, and no one is immune to this issue.” Encouraging victims to come forward and report, or even seek help and support is another m ain point o f SAAM . “ Being silent is being com pliant, and we really have to take a role in ending this for it to actually end, and show ing up is the first Step,” CCC Sexual Assault Advocate Mary Vest said. “ I think [the Me Too Movement] is empowering people to report or at least say som ething to someone, and I think that that is half the battle.” This year’s theme for SAAM is consent, which is a root issue for many instances of assault. Typically, sex is thought of ip term so f reaching-“ basesA” , in stead , try u sin g a p iz z a " m etaphor, Vest said. Instead o f th in k in g about “ o ffen se” and “ d e fe n se ,” th in k about sex as pizzla toppin gs, w ith everyone preferring different combinations^ this introduces a different perspective, rather than the typical one where women are the “ gatekeepers” and m en the “ pursuers,” Vest said. “ I ’ m ho p in g w ith Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we ’re starting that conversation to change those ideas about gender roles,” Azorr said. Sex should be an ongoing dialogue, with consideration of people’ s different wants and needs. “ It’ s not ‘one team loses and the other wins. ’ ” Vest said. On April 2, CCC made blue flags available for students to p lace around cam p u s,, representing them selves, or people they know that have been affected by sexual assault. Azorr Said she counts the event a success. “ We had students coming up and saying, ‘oh my gosh, this ft great, I’m so passionate about this issue, here’s my information, let me know if you need help.’ ” Azorr said. ’ “ That’ s.the goal,” Vest said, “ to find those ways of how we can create connections. ” “The flag event [was] meant to be a visual event, toshow sexual assaults are prevalent, period.” CCC Title IX Coordinator John Ginsburg said. - W hile the flags were blue, to represent SA A M ’ s official teal color, the*team hopes to have more colors next year, to represent other genders.; o rientations, even types o f sexual assault experiences. ASG President Jairo Rodriguez th in k s th at the fla g event w as good, altho ugh better representation is something to strive for. “ I just think that'there could be better ways of showing it, or presenting it, as opposed to just sticking it in the ground,” Rodriguez said. “ I just think that there is more we could do to better give information about sexual assault.” M aking sure to include as many people as possible in the events was im portant to .the team. A table was hosted at the CCC Resource Fair, w ith the team h an ding out w ater b o ttles, t-shirts, stickers, pins and other promotional items, to help get students excited for,the events. ON THE COVER: On the cover is sexual assault awareness ribbon by William Farris Feedback fro m stud ents is essen tial to successfu lly planning for the next SAAM. “ Part o f the beauty o f the m o n th is realiy c allin g on everyone to think about what are the things you can d o ,” Vest said. “ [That might] look lik e su p p o rtin g survivors in your com m unity, having conversations, [being] a part of the movement, even in small ways.” “ I think that the biggest thing 'is-- th a t 'we Want to get more student involvem ent,” Azorr said. More events for SAAM include the Clothesline Project, running April 3.6-20, where survivors can decorate t-shirts to be displayed on April 23. Students can pick up t-shirts at the ASG office or Vest’s office, and illustrate their story through words or pictures, however they Want. Trauma-informed yoga and massages will be led on campus on the 24, with email sign-ups through Vest. On April 25, all students are encouraged to w ear denim for Denim Day, and CCC will be hosting a showing of the film “ The H unting G round,” along w ith a panel o f college and com m unity members to talk about th e com m unity’ s response to sexual assault. April 26 will be the closing even t, w ith C CC h o stin g a resource fair with free food and interactive discussions about consent. E d ito r-in -C h ie f Autum n Berend chiefed@ clackam as.edu M anaging Editor - Ian Van Orden chiefed@ clackam as.edu Copy Editor Victoria Durling copyed@clackam as.edu News Editor Jeanette W right new sed@ dackam as.edu A rts & Culture Editor Jared Preble * aced@clackam as.edu Sports Editor JacobJibom pson sportsed@clackam as.edu Photo Editor Jonathan V illagom ez photoed@clackam as.edu M ultim edia Ed ito r Summ er Barraza webeditor@clackam as.edu Ad & Design Editor W illiam Farris adm gr@ clackam as.edu Reporters Grey-son Mbock Mason Crawley Robert Sanders Adviser Crystal Kang crystal.kang@clackamas.edu The Clackamas Print alms to report the news In an honest, unbiased and pro fessional manner. Content published ir The Print is not screened or subject fc censorship. The Clackamas Print isfreC but please take only one copy. Any person remov ing our papers io bulk will be prosecuted to the fullextent of the law. A p r il 18, 2018
