A lecture at Illinois State University, a month of events and t-shirts that read “Consent is Sexy, Did you ask?” at Bowling Green, and a month of events including a new coffee shop display project at the University of Iowa.

Kudos to the Daily Vidette for the second great article on sexual assault prevention in two weeks and for my favorite quote:

[Todd Denny, the well-known lecturer] also noted that the most effective form of sexual assault prevention on campus is discussing the attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of students.

Great projects by these student organizers! I’m excited to bring you more about student campaigns as we go through the month. Feel free to email us about your project, and please respond to Peg’s post thinking about how we can continue the creativity and commitment of April all year long.

UPDATED The last article is available online again.

The Daily Vidette goes after the myth that “rape doesn’t happen that often on college campuses because I don’t know anyone who has been raped.”

Survivors of sexual violence are often blamed for their victimization and the list of “why did you…why didn’t you …and what were you thinking…” is endless. This questioning implies that it is the victim who is at fault and failed to prevent their assault. We tend to absolve the perpetrator and blame the victim. This is reflected not only in many of our basic beliefs, but also expressed in our language – we say “she was raped” rather than “he raped her”. In the former, there is no mention of an assailant, it is as if the assault occurred in a vacuum and involves only one person.

A junior at Gonzaga University demands the university re-examine their sexual assault policy

Gonzaga condones sexual misconduct. What kind of academic institution allows a dangerous threat to the student community to return at all? What kind of statement is the University making? So long as the immediate conflict is hushed and any bad publicity is avoided, a known rapist can return to campus?

A student at UPenn details her own silencing by her sexual assault and the lack of support she received from those she thought were her friends.

So let’s all engage in open conversations about rape to protect and support each other when confronted with sex-related issues.

I whole-heartedly endorse that conclusion. I really hope that she, and others who feel like she does, seek counseling or at least the friendly ear of a trusted older person. There are undercurrents of self-blame in the article that are really sad to read. No one deserves to be raped.

If you find yourself, as this women clearly did, feeling like you are too weak or too undeserving to assert your own desires or that you don’t deserve the right to defend yourself against an attacker or those who judge the situation without knowing your side, please, please find someone to talk to. Everyone has the right to defend themselves, everyone has the right to control their own bodies, everyone has the right to say “I’m worth more than that.”