Students and staff wore teal ribbons and clothing for Trinity’s annual Teal Week hosted by It’s On Us from April 7 to 11. Teal is associated with sexual assault violence prevention, and wearing teal shows support for survivors and raises awareness for sexual assault.
It’s on Us is a national organization that strives to stop sexual assault on college campuses by training students to serve as peer educators on consent, healthy relationships and other duties. Trinity’s It’s On Us chapter is a branch of Wellness Services and used Teal Week to educate and raise awareness of sexual violence on campus.
It’s On Us hosted an event every day of the week, including a movie screening, stand-in solidarity event, resource fair, fundraiser for the San Antonio Rape Crisis Center and Free Food Friday. This year, It’s On Us screened “Athlete A,” a documentary about the gymnasts who survived sexual abuse from the USA Gymnastics team doctor. Sid McCullough, junior urban studies and Spanish double-major and vice president of It’s On Us, spoke on the opportunity to screen this film.
“It’s a really, really powerful film that situates this in a much broader context,” McCullough said. “It was really cool to be able to do that this year and to have permission to screen it as a public event, because I think it makes the issue so much more real.”
Tuesday’s stand in solidarity event allowed students to dip their hands in bright teal paint, pledging to keep campus safe and to support survivors. Students could leave their handprints if they agreed with the pledge.
Sexual violence can occur anywhere, and according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, more than 90% of sexual assaults go unreported on college campuses. Keyla Limones, sophomore international studies, political science and English triple-major and Teal Week attendee, reiterated the importance of hosting events raising awareness about sexual assault on a college campus.
“I think it’s very significant to our student body, everybody on campus,” Limones said. “It lets us know that if, in case, unfortunately if, you become a survivor of such an incident, there is a support group on campus that can help you, guide you through it, and you never feel alone.”
Teal Week is to educate people about sexual assault and give space for survivors. Jas Sudds, junior anthropology major, attended multiple events during Teal Week and appreciated the variety of events offered.
“I am a sexual assault survivor,” Sudds said. “I am now a part of It’s On Us … I feel like it is part of my healing journey, because my stuff is still fresh. But I also just wanted to be a part of a community that is uplifting other survivors, men, women and anybody else who just really wants to be supported.”
Wednesday was a resource fair for students to learn about the resources the campus offers to support people who experience gender-based and sexual violence. There was trivia, rock painting and music. Health Services offered information about the counseling services available through TigerCare Live, which are free and confidential tools for any students to use.
Different organizations tabled during this event, giving students many choices. McCullough spoke on the challenges of tabling for Teal Week.
“Sometimes I get sad when people come over and they learn about it, and they still don’t care,” McCullough said. “This should be an issue that everyone can agree is an issue, and when there is apathy there, it upsets me.”
It’s On Us had a limited budget for the event, with a larger portion going toward T-shirts for students to wear on Friday. The organization had two student leads for the planning process, McCullough and Giovanna Campolo, senior sociology major and president of It’s On Us. McCullough said that they were happy to see people participating in events and wearing teal.
“Even though Trinity isn’t a big school and we reach an even smaller audience, at least we made an impact in some way,” McCullough said. “I’m really, really proud and happy with how we did this week and what we pulled off as a two-person team.”
