University of Michigan - Michiganensian Yearbook (Ann Arbor, MI)

Page 42 text:

Learning the basic moves and tactics to protect herself in a threatening situation, first-year student Ann Kolkman attacks a punching cushion. The Self Defense Workshop was offered for women only and required a five dollar donation. -- Jimmy Bosse Mpatanishi Tayari, a first-year student, participates in the self-defense training workshop. During the Sexual Assault Awareness Week (Oct. 24-29), guest speakers, counselors, and participants united for the common goal of stopping sexual assault. -- Jimmy Bosse 40 Michigan Life

Page 41 text:

. After studying in the silence of the Law Lihrary, Senior Amy Herman enters the darkened streets alone on her way home. Despite increasing late night reports of harrassment and assault, many students still felt safe walking by themselves. - Stephen Qoldstein HI-YA! Ed Shin delivers a vicious kick during a Tae Kwon Do training session. Some students enrolled in similar classes to hetter their defense skills. - Jimmy Basse Running was a popular sport around U of M, but as shadows fell on the city, most joggers, like Senior Lisa Staro, returned home. - Jimmy Basse Michigan Life 39

Page 43 text:

IMAGINE: A WODLD WITHOUT DAPE apists are strangers. Rape only occurs against women. If you ' re assaulted, don ' t fight back. Time and time again, examples of the ignorance about rape and sexual assault were heard across the nation and throughout the world, though these issues were nothing to be misinformed or uninformed about. The Ninth Annual Sexual Assault Awareness Week, held October 24 through October 29, gave University of Michigan students the op- portunity to learn about the facts and myths of rape, how to prevent it, and what to do if they are a survivor or know someone who is. Sponsored by the Sexual Assault Prevention and Aware- ness Center, or SAPAC, the week offered lectures, a self-defense workshop for women, the SAFEHouse ground breaking ceremony, and the Seventh Annual Speakout. The self-defense workshop included instructors who taught participants the basic defense moves. SAFEHouse ' s ground breaking ceremony was an event which celebrated the establishment of a new site. This week makes us very visible. We start getting requests for more and more workshops, said Kata Issari, senior counselor at SAPAC. This week had a great turnout-it was very responsive. People are getting out for the first time, as well as those who have been here before, she added. Established in February of 1986, SAPAC firmly believed that education is one of the best weapons in combating rape and other acts of sexual violence. The center ' s mission was to counsel, educate, and promote greater safety on campus (for example, Safewalk Northwalk). For future years, we hope that by the time students are seniors, they ' ll be more aware of these issues, Issari said. Although SAPAC was staffed with directors and coordinators, it also encouraged volunteers to help operate the counseling line and plan activities and workshops. SAPAC saw several hundred people per year and its education program reached three to five thousand people. The Seventh Annual Speakout on Sexual Violence certainly proved that SAPAC was gaining wider recogni- tion every year. With a generous mix of males and females, the pleasingly large audience in the Michigan Union Ball- room listened intently to public and anonymous speakers. Some stressed they were survivors of rape, not victims, as victim implies negativity. They showed that survivor means ongoing healing and focued efforts on helping the survivor understand that the sexual abuse wasn ' t their fault. The traditional silence about sexual assault was first broken by people who had the courage to speak out, and further shattered by thunderous applause and cheers of support and encouragement from the audience. Adding to the inspirational atmosphere of the Speakout, balloons of every color read Imagine: A World Without Rape, and were tied to easels displaying literature and artwork of various types on sexual violence. There was an overall strength in the room. Not just in powerful speakers, but a powerful audience as well-an equilibrium. There was a cohesive sense of strength I ' ve never experienced before, said an anonymous senior. The Speakout was a very empowering experience, said senior Rona Kobell. It was moving to be in a room where survivors of sexual assault could relate their traumatic experiences to a supportive and understanding audience. The success of the events even surprised program axirdi- nators, who hoped the large turnouts would continue and aid positive changes on campus. Issari, who was also very moved by the Speakout, encouraged everyone to think about what had happened there that night: Someday, we won ' t need to have an event like this. Michigan Life 41