The academic quad was filled Monday with 1000 flags representing sexual assault cases on college campuses. They were placed by the university club Students Against Sexual Assault (SASA) for their fall week of action.
Next to the display was a file cabinet that contained anonymous testimonials from students and alumni, most of which were from several years ago, documenting their experiences with the Title IX process at UP and a sign that read “This is how UP handles sexual assault.“ An anonymous Instagram account, UPROOT, claimed responsibility for the addition.
The Beacon could not independently verify the claims of the anonymous students whose testimonies were shared.
“(The) Fall Week of Action is SASA's own event, but UPRoot anonymously reached out to us to get permission to set up their display in addition to ours and we said ‘Yes,’” Kristen Kaliban, co-president of SASA, said in an email to The Beacon.
In an Instagram post, UPROOT said that the file cabinet was their way of showing support to the SASA demonstration.
“UP must provide prevention measures, support mechanisms, and accountability pathways for people experiencing sexual assault,” the UPROOT Instagram post Monday said. “It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of how. We maintain that it is imperative for UP to immedately contract with a third party reporting system to track sexual assault and harassment and provide support to students who have been assaulted.”
UPROOT would not comment without being granted anonymity, a request The Beacon declined.
Upcoming SASA events
Oct. 19: leaders of the SASA club are hosting a Zoom presentation titled “The Past, Present, and Future of SASA: Advocacy and Care for Survivors” from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Oct. 20: Erin Currie, a visiting assistant professor of psychological sciences at UP, will discuss interpersonal violence and mental health in Dundon-Berchtold room 133 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Oct. 21: SASA is hosting a self care night in Dundon-Berchtold room 233 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Oct. 22: SASA is sending out an email with resources for sexual assault and violence education.
Kate Cuadrado is a reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached at cuadrado24@up.edu.
