Fight Sexual Assault, Participate in RAINN Day Sept. 23

One out of six women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime, and college-age women are at the greatest risk. In addition, 70 percent of assaults against female college students occur in campus-related facilities, primarily in residence halls and fraternity houses. Females are not the only targets; one out of 33 men will be assaulted in his lifetime.

To help fight sexual violence, Michigan Technological University is taking part in RAINN Day on Thursday, Sept. 23. The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network sponsors the annual event to raise awareness of the problem of sexual assault on college campuses. The events are open to the public.

Chalking
RAINN Day events begin with chalking and informational tables in front of the Memorial Union from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Everyone is invited to come and express themselves on the sidewalks.

SAVE the Day
Participants will learn how to help keep themselves and their friends safe at an interactive presentation, SAVE the Day, set for 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. in front of the Memorial Union. Students from Sexual Aggression and Violence Education (SAVE) and staff from Dial Help will present scenarios and skits on assault and harassment that illustrate ways to identify and avoid violence. Everyone is invited.

Self-Defense Demonstration
A Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) demonstration for women only will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union Commons. Officers Gary Maki and Reid DeVoge of the Department of Public Safety and Police Services will conduct the one-hour class on realistic self-defense tactics and techniques.

The TERR (Tech Educating for Responsible Relationships) committee is organizing RAINN Day at Tech. TERR member Lucia Gregorakis, a second-year student, is co-organizer of the SAVE the Day program. “I’ve seen the difference the TERR committee has made on campus, and I wanted to be a part of it,” she said.

Gregorakis encourages all interested persons on campus and in the community to participate in RAINN Day. “Even though we are one of the safest campuses, these incidents still happen,” she said. “Everyone should come; preventing violence has to be a community effort.”

For more information on TERR and RAINN Day, contact Ellen Horsch, vice president for administration, at eshorsch@mtu.edu.

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.