News in brief: Women’s Health Club to hold march against sexual assault

On May 5, the UC Davis Women’s Health Club will hold its second annual Men’s March Against Sexual Violence. The event will be held in order to raise awareness on the issue of sexual assault on college campuses. The march will begin at 12:15 p.m. on the Quad and continue throughout campus.

According to Mimi Wyatt, member of the Women’s Health Club, the march was named “Men’s March” in order to highlight the fact sexual assault affects people of all gender identities. Additionally, Wyatt said the event provides an opportunity for men, who she said are typically left out of this conversation, to have a chance to participate in the fight against sexual assault.

“We are formally inviting men to the march in the title because men play an important positive role in sexual assault prevention,” Wyatt said via email. “The issue of sexual assault has been a space that men do not generally get an opportunity to participate in, and we want to make it clear that men are able to speak and engage on this issue and should. We all live in this community together, and we should all be facilitators and participators in the prevention of sexual assault.”

Prior to the march, State Senator Kevin de Leόn (D-Los Angeles) will give a speech concerning sexual violence on college campuses at 11:30 a.m. on the West Quad. De Leόn helped write Senate Bill 967, which would require California colleges and universities to follow specific victim-centered policies and protocols when addressing sexual violence on campus.

The first 100 people who pre-register for the march on the event’s Facebook page will receive a free T-shirt. Pre-registered marchers will be able to check in at 11 a.m. at the MU patio. Additionally, the student organization that brings in the most marchers will receive a $200 prize.

“We thought that it was necessary to bring this event to our campus because we believe that the issue of sexual assault on college campuses is one that requires institutional and legal change as well as a cultural shift of understanding sexual violence among our own student body,” said Sarah Yang, Women’s Health Club president, via email. “Especially because a lot of other events are happening right now, like sexual assault awareness month and the publication of the White House Task Force’s first report to protect students from sexual assault, we are amidst a national campaign against sexual assault and violence.”

— Jason Pham