VOL . 101, no. 25
t h e u n i v e r s i t y o f t e x a s at e l pa s o
April 5, 2016
Be Assertive, Speak Up UTEP students support Sexual Assault Awareness Month
special to The Prospector Participants of the Silhouette Project hold up their decorated silhouettes as part of the month-long project that will begin April 11 at the Mercado Mayapan with the “Fire & Ice Border Tour.”
By Javier Cortez The Prospector In honor of national Sexual Assault Awareness Month, UTEP will host the month-long Silhouette Project at various locations on campus to increase awareness and education about the impacts of sexual violence through the use of workshops, art exhibitions and keynote speeches. The month-long project will begin from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 11 at the Mercado Mayapan with the “Fire & Ice Border Tour,” and will conclude with “Take Back the
Night” candlelight vigil from 7 to 9 p.m. April 29 at the Union Cinema. In its first year of existence, the Silhouette Project is set to be a jam-packed month, according to Arely Hernandez, coordinator for the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution. “April will be a busy month,” Hernandez said via email interview. “This month will be informative, engaging, interactive and hopefully will not only bring awareness to sexual violence but action… The message is that it can happen to anyone, regardless of gender, race or age.”
The message is that it can happen to anyone, regardless of gender, race or age.
- Arely Hernandez,
coordinator, Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution
One of the main themes that will be seen over the course of the month, besides awareness of sexual assault, is gender binary. By definition, gender binary is the concept and/or classification system consisting of two genders, male and female. The topic will be tackled on April 29, during a “Take Back the Night” workshop. Keynote speaker Carlos Andrés Gómez, award-winning poet, actor and speaker, will conduct a workshop titled “Exploring Gender Gap: Beyond the Binary,” which will go in-depth into the two-gender classification system,
the components of gender and how gender frames daily lives. According to Hernandez, the annual “Take Back the Night” is a can’t miss event for students. Another event that Hernandez highlighted was the showing of “The Hunting Ground,” which is a documentary on sexual assault on college campuses. The documentary will air at 6 p.m. April 20, at the Union Cinema, which will be followed by a discussion forum. Getting the student population engaged and involved is one of the key components of making the month-long project a success,