UB will hold its first ever RAINN Day this Thursday to help raise awareness about rape and sexual abuse on campus, but the idea for the event came long before the recent sexual assaults on South Campus.
Director of SBI Health Education Jane Fischer, said the plan to bring the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network's (RAINN) special day for college students to UB's campus began this summer.
With the recent rapes of a UB student and a 24-year-old woman on campus, RAINN Day, a nationwide event, has a greater significance here, according to Fischer.
"There needed to be an outlet. Everybody was talking amongst themselves about what happened on campus." she said. "This really gives that outlet so that no longer is it people talking in the food court or on the bus, it's everybody getting together and raising one voice."
RAINN, the country's largest anti-sexual assault organization, holds the annual event to give college students the facts about sexual crimes that are more likely to touch their lives.
College age women are four times more likely to be victims of a sexual assault, according to a statistic from the organization.
From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Student Union, the SBI Health Education along with the Anti-Rape Task Force will be giving out information to students on these issues, as well as tips for staying safe.
"[Students] will have a greater awareness about how great an issue [sexual abuse] is in our community and on our campus, and what they can do to be part of the solution," Fischer said.
After the informational session in the Student Union, the event will move to Founders Plaza for a rally, where the campus community can gather to show support for victims of sexual abuse, and their desire to put an end to it.
"UB does not need to be a campus that stands back and waits for something to happen," Fischer said. "UB can be a campus that proactively moves to make a difference."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
