Teal Day to honor and support survivors of sexual assault

Lee University will come together for Teal Day on April 8 to honor and support survivors of sexual assault. According to Kelsey Baker, the Director of Title IX Compliance, Teal Day is a national day of action associated with Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month. 

Students are encouraged to wear teal on April 8 to show their support, and the Office of Title IX Compliance will have giveaways for Teal Day t-shirts throughout the day. 

There will be several other events occurring during the day, all focused on raising awareness. 

The Office of Title IX Compliance has partnered with Omega Alpha Phi and will have a booth on the Ped Mall from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday. The booth will offer students a variety of educational resources to learn more about Teal Day. Students will also be able to sign a pledge to show their support.

“Basically that pledge is us coming together as a community and pledging to be proactive bystanders and people who will intervene if we see something that’s not right, speak out against sexual harassment before things escalate, and also I think part of that pledge … is just a commitment to continuing to learn and continuing to have these conversations so that we can learn how to listen and care well for one another,” said Baker. 

The Lunch and Learn event will take place at lunchtime and provide information from faculty and staff for students who signed up for the event. 

Dr. Ruth Wienk, a professor of sociology, and Dr. Julie Gardenhire, a professor of marriage and family therapy will speak during the lunch along with Baker. 

Teal Day events will conclude with the Night of Hope at 7 p.m. at the Ped Mall Amphitheater. 

“This really is just a time for the community to come together and share messages of hope and sort of both honor survivors, but also celebrate the strengths that we have together in community and to just have space for reflection,” said Baker. 

The event will also include worship and a time of candlelight.

Several students are participating in the Night of Hope through different forms of “creative expressions of hope and tribute to survivors,” according to a post on Lee University’s Title IX Instagram page. 

“Lots of student leaders from across campus [are] coming together and helping to put that on,” said Baker. 

Baker revealed that this year’s Teal Day revolves around the theme “your story matters.”

“That really gets to the heart of why we set this day aside and why it’s important to us. At the end of the day our hope is to communicate that our students and their experiences matter,” said Baker. “There are people across campus, in this office and otherwise who will listen with compassion [and] who will provide validation and support and resources.”

The Office of Title IX Compliance is located in Centenary 117, located across from the Deacon Jones Dining Hall. 

“We respond to any reports of sexual harassment, which includes sexual assault. That also includes conduct like stalking, dating and domestic violence, exploitation, even verbal harassment,” explained Baker. 

Anyone in the Lee community who has had an uncomfortable experience, or is aware of anyone who has, can file a report. There are multiple ways to do so:  

1.        Reports can be filed directly at the Office of Title IX Compliance. 

2.        Reports can be filed online through student’s Portico accounts. 

3.        Reports can be filed online at the Office of Title IX Compliance website.

4.        Reports can be filed through a link on the Office of Title IX Compliance Instagram page.

Baker said reports can be filed anonymously, but it does limit the actions of the office and university. A statement from the Office of Title IX Compliance website explains that “a decision to remain anonymous may greatly limit Lee’s University ability to stop the alleged conduct, collect evidence, or take action against parties…”

Students can also reach out to Baker directly through email and set up a time to meet. “I think it’s helpful for folks to know that an initial conversation is really just focused on support,” said Baker. “So, what supportive measures does someone need to feel safe and comfortable on campus? I think … it can feel intimidating … but in a first conversation, we’re really gonna just focus heavily on what support does that person need.” 

“From there we also offer different options to address any specific allegations that might involves our students, and we have resolution options that we walk through. Ultimately, we do try to follow the lead of the person who experiences the incident and let them, as much as possible, choose the steps they want to take next. If they want the university to investigate the incident, we are happy to do that, but we’re also happy to just provide support if that’s what they’re looking for in that moment,” said Baker. 

The Office of Title IX Compliance can also help with other needs. This includes facilitating counseling or healthcare type referrals and helping students that are impacted academically. 

“We can support students if an incident has impacted them academically and arrange whatever accommodation could help them continue successfully as a student,” said Baker. “So there’s lots we can do on the support side and then of course things we can do just like investigating what took place so we can hold folks accountable if that’s needed.”

Baker said that she wants students “to be empowered” and know what options are available to them. 

“Statistically it’s more likely than not that we all know someone who has had, at some level, some kind of unwanted sexual experience. Unfortunately, that’s just what national statistics tell us,” Baker shared. 

Baker said that being a listener and showing survivors that their stories matter is an important step in showing support. 

“With those who may have had unwelcome sexual experiences or anyone who has walked through something difficult is just to practice listening without judgment.”

But it is also vital to recognize that people may not be ready to share their story. Baker shared it is important to recognize that everyone has their own timeframe of processing and healing. 

“We might have friends that are just at a different level of readiness to even engage in events like Teal Day and that’s OK.” Baker explained that the events planned on Teal Day are meant to “feel safe and inviting to all” but recognizes that some might not be ready, and it is important to respect this decision.

To learn more about Teal Day or the Office of Title IX Compliance, visit their website or contact the Director of Title IX Compliance, Kelsey Baker at kbaker@leeuniversity.edu. 

The Instagram page for the Office of Title IX Compliance can be found @leeu_titleix.

Graphic from @leeu_titleix