“Be the change.” was the rally cry of the Teal Party in the Lankford Student Union Ballroom on Thursday, Nov. 20. The English 400: Gender Topics class hosted the event as a group project to help raise awareness about sexual violence and harassment.
Professor Ariana Reilly, the advisor for the class project, explained how the class came up with the topic for the event. “The idea is that parties have become unsafe places. We don’t want it to be the party that’s the problem, and so we’re trying to take back the party. Redefine it and own it, so it can be a safe place for everyone to go to.”
Multiple tables and booths providing various information and activities were set up throughout the ballroom for students to learn more about the subject.
Some tables displayed shocking, yet important facts and statistics about sexual assault and rape. Other tables gave students scenarios where they could suggest the best solutions. One table hosted several games where students could gain a better understanding of consent and how a sexual assault could occur anywhere. Finally, another table was presented by the Longwood University Police Department, where female students could learn about Rape Aggression Defense (R.A.D.) classes.
Professor Reilly further went on to comment on the importance of this event to the university. “I think Longwood needs to think about stuff like this and so hopefully, you know, if we succeed at just getting one person [to] come in here and learn something and they’re able to help a friend in need or just a stranger in need or to avoid a situation that’s harmful, then I think we’ve succeeded.”
After the students had some time to visit the tables, the promotional video for the event was shown to students, faculty, and staff, encouraging the student body to “Be the change” and to stop excuses for sexual assault. Afterwards, a second video played where a hidden camera caught the reactions, or lack there of, of bystanders as they witnessed actors playing a situation of sexual harassment. When it was the female as the aggressor, no one stepped up to help the victim. When the male was the aggressor, it was the sixth attempt before someone intervened.
Rebecca Dey, the actress who played the female victim in the hidden camera experiment, was astonished by the lack of response. “It was interesting in the sense that not that many people stepped up to help,” she added, “I just think it shows that you need to not be just a bystander, you need to act when you see something going wrong.”
“It means a lot to me,” Dey remarked about the Teal Party’s importance to her, “because when I took this English 400 class, I really had no idea about how many people are sexually assaulted, never really looked into it and I also didn’t know anything about the Longwood procedure for rape cases. So it’s really interesting and I think it’s great that we’re bringing awareness to the whole campus.”
Longwood seniors Lindsey Greaux and Jameka Williams shared the same sentiments. “I think it’s important because as we saw, people aren’t aware.” stated Williams. “A lot of people are oblivious to their surroundings and I think it’s important to remind people to be aware and alert about these things that do happen. It’s not just like a UVA thing, it’s a Longwood [thing] and we all need to stick together.”
Greaux stated, “I think it’s important to have this because a lot of people don’t understand that it can happen to anybody. It doesn’t just happen to girls at a party. It can happen to someone going to D Hall or walking home from class and this can happen to males, like we saw on the video.”
Longwood University Chief of Police Robert Beach, who was also in attendance, had stated that he felt the event has already helped to raise awareness about the issue of sexual assault and harassment. “I think it empowers people. I think it empowers a young man to be able to if necessary, step in and say ‘What’s going on here is not right.’ or a young woman to be able to say ‘Hey what’s occurring here is not the right thing’ and it empowers everybody to step up and to take some personal responsibility for the safety of the campus as well as their own.”
