In a show of support for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, a wave of teal flooded Tuohy Hall’s auditorium Monday.
The Women’s Empowerment Club and Writing Club at SJC Brooklyn teamed up with the campus’ Student Government Association to host an event that informs the College community about sexual assault and what resources are available tovictims. The student leaders called the event Teal Day of Action, as teal is the official color of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Tables in the auditorium were set up with activities. At one station, students used crayons to color in pages highlighting the strength or survivors. Another table gave students an outlet to make origami hearts.
Michelle Macleod, a project coordinator for St. Joseph’s prevention, intervention and advocacy programs, ran a table where students had one fingernail painted teal as a symbol of their support of the cause. Meanwhile, Danielle Armato, a junior business administration major, and a member of the Writing Club, encouraged students to sign a pair of posters that stress the importance of consent. 
Armato said she was already impressed with the responses from her peers less than 20 minutes into the event.
“It’s important because I have yet to meet a woman who was never in a situation under the #MeToo movement,” said Armato, referring to the recent movement that encouraged survivors of sexual assault to come forward with their stories.
Resources for survivors
The event also featured informational flyers with contact information for College officials and other local organizations equipped to help victims of sexual assault. At SJC Brooklyn, counseling services are available on the second floor of Tuohy Hall.
“We wanted to give the students a reason to have fun while learning about our resources,” said Alia Rohain Khizer, president of the Women’s Empowerment Club.
Representatives from SafeHorizon, a Brooklyn Heights victim assistance organization, and Crime Victim Support Services, a Ronkonkoma non-profit dedicated to the prevention and treatment of child sex abuse and rape, participated at the event.
Macleod, a former graduate coordinator with the Stevens Institute of Technology’s Lore-El Center for Women’s Leadership, helped organize the event as part of a three-year grant awarded to St. Joseph’s by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Help SJC Brooklyn raise awareness all month long
- Community Partners, the Crime Victims Center and Wyckoff Heights Violence Intervention Treatment Program will host an informational event in the Cafeteria on Tuesday, April 9, providing resources and giveaways during common hour.
- An April 16 workshop discussing gender roles and expectations and how they perpetuate and impact experiences of sexual violence. The event will be held in the Tuohy Hall auditorium during common hour.
- St. Joseph’s and the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center will together sponsor a screening of the documentary “The Silence” on April 16, 3-5:30 pm at the BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center Theater II, 199 Chambers St. The film narrates the decades long struggle of “comfort women” (former sex slaves imprisoned by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II) for recognition and reparation.
- Patrick Walsh, a social worker from the Victim Services Program at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, will run a program on deconstructing and reconstructing consent, and healthy approaches to sex on April 23 during common hour in the Bear Cave.
