MTSU Observes Sexual Assault Awareness Month With April Activities

Clotheslines, color and, above all, compassion will be the hallmarks of MTSU's 2021 observance of Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April.

Throughout the month, MTSU's Pinnacle Honor Society, the June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students and the Power of One will host a donation drive for the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Center in Rutherford County. A list of the center's needs is available at https://mtsu.edu/jac/pinn.php.

Contributions also can be made by scanning the QR code on the boxes located in Room 330 of the Student Union, the James E. Walker Library administrative office or Middle Tennessee Outdoor Pursuits in the Campus Recreation Center.

For the first time, Sexual Assault Awareness Month will include "Color the Commons," a chalk art competition open to individuals, organizations and departments, on Thursday, April 1. First-come, first-served registration is open and further information is available at http://bit.ly/ColortheCommons. An MTSU sign-on is required.

Walk-ups are welcome on the day of the event if space permits. Masks are required for all participants. Activity books and shirts to design for the following day's Clothesline Project will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Shirts that were designed on April 1 will be on display in the Clothesline Project Friday, April 2, through Friday, April 9, in the Student Union atrium. This traditional event enables people to express their feelings about sexual assault and display them on T-shirts.

On a more lighthearted note, people will put their feet to the streets on campus for "Walk a Mile in Their Shoes," which will start at 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 13, with registration at the Campus Recreation Center.

Volunteers will provide information regarding sexual assault, both on- and off-campus services and resources for students, faculty and staff. Event shirts will be given to participants while supplies last.

Groups will be spaced apart for social distancing. All participants will be required to wear masks and will be asked to wear comfortable shoes. Snacks will be available at the end of the walk while supplies last.

MTSU Sexual Assault Awareness Month events are sponsored by the Intrafraternity Council, Fraternity and Sorority Life, Campus Recreation, SPARE, Housing and Residential Life, MTSU Police, the June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students, Power of One and Pinnacle Honor Society.

For more information, contact Maigan Wipfli, director of the June Anderson Center, at maigan.wipfli@mtsu.edu or jacwns@mtsu.edu or Tatum Hochstetler, Office of Violence against Women Project coordinator, at tatum.england@mtsu.edu.