Sexual assault affects each and every one of us, though we may be unaware.

By Nada Elias, Matthew Connolly, Kacie McClain
Guest Columnists

Sexual Assault Awareness Week began Sunday and will continue through Friday, April 6. This is not the first time the University has implemented Sexual Assault Awareness Week on campus. This year however, student initiative, passion and perseverance have played a defining role. As concerned students, we have strived to create an atmosphere conducive to education and awareness at this University.

Groups like Students Acting Against Sexual Assault and Men Against Sexual Assault feel that there is an overwhelming need for student activism towards this issue. Why? Sexual assault affects each and every one of us, though we may be unaware. Sexual assault transcends all boundaries. Every person can be touched by it no matter what race, religion, sexual orientation, gender, age, culture or economic status one identifies with.

One in four women, one in six men these are the statistics but they convey nothing in terms of the devastating effects that accompany sexual assault. Sexual assault is a concrete human experience that is coupled with real suffering. People hurt by sexual assault are everywhere; most likely standing behind the faces of people you talk to everyday. A survivor could be the woman who sits in front of you in class, the man you passed on your way to the Union or the person you had a conversation with on the bus. Sexual assault affects the entire community. Because this is a community that we love, ignoring the problem should not be an option. But regrettably, for some of us on this campus, it seems to be an option.

Why is there such a lack of outrage and action regarding sexual assault? It is not because this is an insignificant issue, rather, it is due to the fact that sexual assault is taboo in the media, and society as a whole is afraid to talk about it. It is underrepresented in the media. Only the most brutal accounts of sexual assault ever really make it to the headlines and only recently have there been signs that mainstream media is becoming more aware of the scope of this issue. On a more personal level, we are either too afraid or too uncomfortable to discuss sexual assault with the people close to us. While this silence is in some way understandable, we need to recognize that it contributes to the ignorance that allows us to ignore this problem. This must change.