April is National Sexual Assault Awareness month. Throughout the year University of Alaska students, staff and faculty participate in education and awareness events that focus on healthy relationships, learning what is and is not consent, understanding appropriate boundaries and violence prevention. Additionally, the university brings in national experts, provides panel discussions, and participates in national awareness campaigns such as It’s On Us that “asks everyone – students, community leaders, parents, organizations, and companies – to step up and realize that the conversation changes with us. It’s a rallying cry to be a part of the solution.” There are presentations and small group discussions related to bystander training, mental health, suicide, sexual assault awareness and prevention, dating and domestic violence programs, and related resources available for students.�

Our goal is culture change, at UA and throughout Alaska. Our state's rates of sexual violence and harassment are too high. Boldness is required to change the statistics, and the participation of every member of our campus communities is essential for meaningful culture change to occur. Sexual assault awareness events are an important part of how the University of Alaska will gain broad awareness of the issues and understanding of prevention strategies to help affect this needed culture change. ����

In April, special events highlight UA’s Sexual Assault Awareness month:

The Mask You Live In Screening and Discussion
Where: UAA Anchorage Campus, Student Union Den
Wednesday, March 28, 6-8 p.m.

Boys are twice as likely to drop out of school, and four times as likely to be expelled, in comparison to girls. As early as elementary school, boys confront messages about masculinity (what it means to be a man) that lead them to suppress their emotions, deny their need for close friendships, objectify and degrade women and resolve conflicts through violence.

The Representation Project’s The Mask You Live In curriculum encourages students from kindergarten through university levels to think critically about ways in which gender stereotypes manifest in their lives – in the media and elsewhere – and intersect with race, class and circumstance to influence people’s attitudes, behaviors and options. Through classroom activities designed to engage students in thoughtful discussions that are relevant and meaningful to them, students will learn to question and critique gender norms that are inaccurate and/or incomplete and to become savvy consumers of media.

The goal of this curriculum is to foster and support students’ healthy resistance against societal messages and pressures that undermine their sense of integrity, hinder their interpersonal relationships and limit their opportunities. With an emphasis on creating participatory experiences that will impact students’ views and ways of being in the world, this curriculum strives to inform and more importantly to empower students to acknowledge and honor the full range of their humanity, and to define success in terms of their ability to feel whole, connected and valued. �

#SeawolvesSpeakUp
Where: UAA Anchorage Campus, Student Union Leadership Lab
Monday and Tuesday, April 2 & 3, 3-6 p.m.

This is a photo campaign, to raise awareness and encourage folks to share how they speak up. The photographs will be uploaded to the Office of Equity and Compliance (OEC) Facebook page, and shared at the Stand Strong event.

The Clothesline Project
Where: UAF Fairbanks Campus – Skarland Hall April 3, 6 p.m., McIntosh Hall April 10, 6 p.m.
Where: UAS Juneau Campus - Creation and Display throughout April

The Clothesline Project is to bring awareness to the issue of violence against women, men, and everyone. For people who have been affected by violence, it is a means of expressing their emotions by decorating a t-shirt. After the shirts have been decorated, they are hung on a clothesline display.

In Fairbanks: Shirts will be displayed during Take Back the Night. Please join in decorating shirts to share our stories surrounding the issues of violence on college campuses. Contact uafadvocate@iacnvl.org for more information.​​

In Juneau: Creation Stations will be announced in early April and shirts will be displayed in Lakeside Grill, the Egan Classroom Wing and John Pugh Hall.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month Kickoff
Where: UAF Fairbanks - Arctic Java, Wood Center
Wednesday, April 4, 2018, 5�p.m. - 7 p.m.

A new art display in Arctic Java will raise awareness of sexual violence and prevention. The Resource and Advocacy Center will also be revealing their survivor “Story Tree” at this event as well. Contact uaf-sao@alaska.edu for more information.

Poetry Workshop
Where: UAA Anchorage Campus, Student Union Den
Friday, April 6, 2018, 2-3 p.m.
This workshop will be hosted by FreeQuency, and is open to all UAA students

Write to Live, Live to ____:

Writing, of all styles and skill levels, saves lives regardless of whether those writing identify as writers. This workshop explores how trauma and grief are socialized to silence us and how writing and speaking out through writing reclaims voices, bodies, spaces and histories on both a personal and political scale. This exploratory workshop asks people to sit in conversation with how they use their writing and how writing can be a transformative process for anyone who picks up a tool and is ready for what can possibly be unearthed. �In contrast to ‘poetry as protest’ which is often necessarily a more public endeavor, this workshop explores ‘poetry as a process’ for engaging with self (including past and future selves) and as a means of healing the individual, community and challenging society in the process, regardless of whether one identifies as or becomes “a writer”. �As Maya Angelou says, “even if your work doesn’t resonate with others, it is still worth writing. And that in itself, is what is important.”

Tarana Burke: Me Too. Empowerment through Empathy
Where: UAF Fairbanks - Bunnell Auditorium
Friday, April 6, 2018, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Join us for an evening with Tarana Burke - Founder of the Me Too Movement and Social Justice Activist. Tarana will give a presentation followed by a Q&A. �The simple yet courageous #metoo hashtag campaign has emerged as a rallying cry for people everywhere who have survived sexual assault and sexual harassment – and Tarana’s powerful, poignant story as creator of what is now an international movement that supports survivors will move, uplift, and inspire you. Tickets are available at the Wood Center. Contact uaf-ndac@alaska.edu for more information.​

Stand Strong for STAR
Where: UAA Anchorage Campus, Fine Arts Building - Room 150, Recital Hall
Friday, April 6, 2018, 6 - 10 p.m.

Stand Strong for STAR will be a fun and family friendly event to empower survivors of sexual assault and raise awareness. There will be games and a silent auction throughout the night, as well as a spoken word open mic night, starting at 7 p.m. The open mic will be hosted by FreeQuency, a well-renowned spoken word artist and activist from New Orleans. FreeQuency will also be performing some of her own pieces throughout the open mic. In addition to spoken word, other local acoustic musicians and storytellers will be performing throughout the night. There will be food for purchase, and there is a $5.00 suggested donation. All proceeds from the night will be donated to STAR. There will be an ASL interpreter for all performances. Folks who are wanting to perform, can contact Bridget Coffou at bmcoffou@alaska.edu

Recognizing Non-Verbal Cues and Consent
Where: UAA Anchorage Campus, Student Union Lyla Richardson Conference Room
April 11, 2018, 12 - 1p.m.

Conversation about recognizing non-verbal cues.

Green Dot Overview
Where: UAF Fairbanks - Gruening 402
Thursday, April 12, 2018 5:30�p.m. - 7 p.m.

Green Dot is a Bystander Intervention program that helps students, staff, and faculty understand their role in preventing sexual violence, stalking, and dating violence. Join us during Sexual Assault Awareness Month to learn about how you can help prevent violence in our community. Food will be provided. Pre-registration is required. Please email aecross3@alaska.edu.

Service Project at the Interior Alaska Center for Non-Violent Living
Where: UAF Fairbanks - Meet at the SLI Office in the Wood Center
Saturday, April 15, 2018 12 p.m. - 3 p.m.

Students can get involved during Sexual Assault Awareness Month by volunteering at the Interior Alaska Center for Non-Violent Living. Food and transportation to the Center will be provided by the Student Leadership and Involvement Office. Contact uaf-sli@alaska.edu for more information.

Green Dot Bystander Intervention Training
Where: UAF Fairbanks - Murie 103/105
Sunday, April 15, 2018 12 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Green Dot is a Bystander Intervention program that helps students understand their role in preventing sexual violence, stalking, and dating violence. Join us during Sexual Assault Awareness Month to learn about how you can help prevent violence in our community. Food will be provided. Pre-registration is required. Please email aecross3@alaska.edu.

Prevention Week @ Prince William Sound College
UAA Prince William Sound College, April 16-20

• One-Love Workshop w/ students
• Talking Stick Activity - led by Heidi Franke
• Tabling- Creating encouraging postcards for victims and survivors. These will be donated to local DVSA crisis center.
• Bystander training w/ students
• Dinner with panelists and then panel discussion
• Bystander training w/ staff/faculty
• “Let’s Talk about Sex” event in PWSC housing

Bears, Beers, and Bystanders
Where: UAF Fairbanks - The Pub (side room), Wood Center
Wednesday, April 18, 2018 7�p.m. - 8 p.m.

The way we talk about sexual violence matters. Join us for a conversation on this topic, masculinity, and how to get involved in prevention efforts. The conversation will be led by Ronnie Houchin (Admissions) and Justin Lopez (Fort Wainwright SHARP). This video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNVFPkmZTQ4 will be used to spark the conversation. Contact uaf-ndac@alaska.edu for more information.

#MeToo: Mens Role in the Movement
Where: UAS Juneau Campus - Glacier View Room April 18, 6:30-8 pm

In partnership with AWARE, UAS will host a panel discussion of men from our community on the impacts of the #metoo movement, how men can push through feelings of defensiveness or inadequacy and be a better ally.

Denim Day
Where: UAF Fairbanks - Wood Center
Where: UAA Anchorage Campus
April 25, 2018

April 25th is National Denim Day, which "is a day of protest against violence and in support of survivors." Denim Day began in Italy in 1997, when an 18 year old woman was raped by her driving instructor. In an appeal to the Italian Supreme Court, it was ruled that the woman would have had to help the man remove her jeans, thus making the act consensual. Women of the Italian Parliament protested the court's ruling by wearing denim to work and holding signs that read "Jeans: An Alibi for Rape". Americans quickly took notice and have been wearing denim on April 25 for more than a decade.

Anchorage: We encourage all staff, faculty, and administration to wear denim on this day. �We will also be encouraging students, but it will have more of an impact if people who are usually dressed in (semi) professional on a daily basis are dressed down.� Denim ribbons will be provided that say "ask me why I'm wearing denim" to encourage conversations about sexual assault, and the importance of believing survivors.

Fairbanks: Stop by the table in the Wood Center from 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM to show your support on Denim Day. Contact uaf-sao@alaska.edu for more information.

Take Back the Night
Where: UAF Fairbanks Campus – UAF Constitution Park
Thursday, April 26, 2018, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m.

Take Back the Night is an annual march for sexual violence survivors. This year UAF is being highlighted nationally as one of ten Points of Light. The event will consist of a keynote speech, march, and survivor speak out. The event, and march, will begin at Constitution Park (in front of Constitution Hall/Gruening) and end at Troth yeddha' (up near the museum). �Contact uaf-ndac@alaska.edu for more information.​

For more information contact:

UAA - Ronald Kamahele
907-786-4680 rckamahele@alaska.edu

UAF - Margo Griffith
(907) 474-7300 mcgriffith@alaska.edu

UAS - Lori Klein
(907) 796-6036 �laklein@alaska.edu