April means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. To some, it is the true beginning of spring, a time when thirty-below temperatures and 10 inches of snow become something of the past. To some, April means the advent of Easter or Earth Day or autism awareness. To some it is the month that brings about the birthdays of our favorite relatives. To some, though, “it's time... to talk about it.” It's the time when women affected by sexual assault use the podium given by the month to stand up and educate communities on sexual violence in hopes of helping prevent future assaults.
Let us open our eyes and see just how close to home sexual violence statistics are: 44% of victims are under 18 and 80% are under 30. Every 2 minutes another American is sexually assaulted. Each year there are approximately 237,868 victims of sexual assault. An astounding 60% of cases go unreported to the police. 97% of the rapists will never spend a day in jail. All of these go back to how real and close to home this problem really is.
This
is why I wish to bring attention to the issue and the importance of some
upcoming events. (https://www.rainn.org/statistics)
The men of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity have teamed up with the
Lafayette Crisis Center to help make Purdue University more aware. We wish to
team up with the Greek community, the university, and the community of greater
Lafayette to bring attention to this strikingly misunderstood topic of sexual
assault. We want to bring this topic to the
forefront for the month of April. We, together, can help make Purdue a safer
place for all and show respect for those who have been affected by this
terrible act of violence.
On April 3rd at 8pm, join in on the campus-wide candlelight vigil
starting at the Memorial Mall. The vigil will be to show support for sexual
assault awareness, crisis intervention, and rape survivor advocacy. Although
this may not hit home for you, show respect for those it does and those who
have been affected directly by taking less than an hour out of your day and
being there.
The awareness continues on April 5th at the University Church in
West Lafayette at 1pm, 2:30pm or 4pm for the Delta Tau Delta alumni serenading.
Free will donations will be taken at those times for the Lafayette Crisis Center.
We cordially invite everyone from the area to come together for two days and show the community why Purdue is the greatest school on the planet. #boilerstrong
