Finding sunshine after rain

College is supposed to be the best four years of your life. At least that’s what they say. Yet, the opposite is becoming true for a rapidly increasing number of college students.

One in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college, and 63% of assaults are not reported to police. Sexual assault is becoming an increasingly prevalent issue among college campuses today. However, this allegedly taboo topic is rarely discussed among students.

The University of Toledo will bring this issue to light this September, with its annual RAINN Day display.

Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) Day is typically held every third Thursday of September, and is an annual day of action to raise awareness and educate students about sexual violence on college campuses. It is designed to empower college students to educate their peers about risk reduction and recovery resources on their campus.

This year’s RAINN Day will be hosted by the Sexual Assault Education and Prevention Program (SAEPP), the Office of Student Advocacy and Support, and the Young Women’s Christian Association Hope Center.

The event will take place Sept. 15 in Centennial Mall from 12 to 2 p.m., and will feature a number of displays made by and created for UT students and assault victims alike.

Lindsay Tuttle, UT’s sexual assault and substance abuse prevention education coordinator, says she hopes this event will spark more discussion among students regarding the topic of sexual assault.

“One of the big pushes recently is bystander interventions; empowering students to educate their peers about sexual assault through education, prevention, and awareness,” Tuttle said. “Simply put — see something, say something.”

One display that will be showcased during the event is the Clothesline Project. This event allows survivors to express their emotions by decorating a t-shirt.

Lena Salpietro, a graduate Aasistant for SAEPP and RAINN Day coordinator, says that by displaying these shirts, other survivors and victims are able to see tangible evidence that they are not alone, and there are resources available to help them.

“It is a powerful vehicle for women who have been affected by violence to have their voices and stories heard,” Salpietro said, “and it is an influential experience to those who get the opportunity to view the collection of shirts, because it is living proof that this is an existent issue, and that real people are affected by it.”

The Office of Student Advocacy and Support will also be promoting an umbrella decorating contest, and will provide a free umbrella to the first 30 student organizations that sign up for the contest.

This friendly competition will give student organizations the chance to design an umbrella that brings about awareness of sexual assault prevention.

Submissions will be judged based on a number of components, including creativity, relevance to theme, complexity, and artistic merit.

The organization with the most creative umbrella will win $100 worth of programming money, second place, $75, and third place, $50. Winners will be announced Monday, Sept. 26.

Examples of past winners will be on display during RAINN Day and this year’s submissions will be displayed in Trimble Lounge in the Student Union after Sept. 26.

Student organizations can visit the Office of Student Advocacy and Support located in the Student Union room 2521 to pick up a contest registration form.

Ultimately, Salpietro hopes RAINN Day will be just as moving of an experience for onlookers and participants as it is for the victims and survivors of sexual assault.

“RAINN Day is meant empower students and other members of the community,” Salpietro said. “It is important for the voices of those who have been silenced to be heard.”