Ducks @ Oregon - University of Oregon

SASS (Sexual Assault Support Services) at UO

Katie D.

December 6, 2009 - 5:23 PM

Sexual assault prevention and response services are of critical importance on our campus and in our community. That's why several of my friends spent their time in the freezing-cold weather on Thursday night, asking people who attended the football game to contribute to this cause as they entered and left the stadium. This was what they were asking:

"In September 2009 a woman was raped within a few blocks of Autzen stadium during the first football game of the season. Sexual assault does happen on this campus and in this community. But UO students believe the issue of sexual violence is a priority. Please show your personal support by donating $1 to our local non-profit advocacy agency (Sexual Assault Support Services) which provides services to students."

The university and community have many services available to women who have experienced assault, as well as providing preventative measures in the community. A wonderful example of this is APS, the Assault Prevention Shuttle, a free taxi service for all UO students and staff. The shuttle operates in the evenings while school is in session, and is staffed mostly by volunteers. It is paid for by student fees, and allows students to safely return home after a late night studying in the library, or simply from a friend's house or late event. I use the shuttle when I need to cross town late at night, and I am so thankful for this safe and free option for students in Eugene.

The University of Oregon also has a flourishing Women's Center and various services through student groups. These groups work on issues from information about sexual health to politically oriented women's issues. They hold fabulous events each year including a condom fashion show (where outfits are made out of condom packages) and have also sponsored the Vagina Monologues.

There is currently, however, a serious discrepancy in the UO's support for women's health safety. Part of our student fees go toward funding SASS, the Sexual Assault Support Services staff who are available for women to speak with and receive counseling. Assault and rape are serious issues in the lives of women, and in the health of the community as a whole. Due to a complication in contract renewal, SASS is not currently receiving funding from the University. This means an enormous strain on an organization that continues to provide services to students, but is now doing so without the financial resources they rely on.

I want to encourage the ASUO and the University at large to move quickly to remedy this situation. Emma Kallaway, the UO student body president, has been actively campaigning to renew SASS's contract, and needs to receive additional support from University students and leadership.

I so appreciate the group of students and concerned individuals who were there at the football game, working to provide support for SASS and women's protection. For any of you who saw them there at the game, I hope that you recognized their effort for what it was: a visible and positive sign of what Ducks fans can do to help one another. For the students reading this, I hope you feel as proud as I do that your student fees are being used to support such worthy causes as the Assault Prevention Shuttle, and I'm sure you will join me in hoping that the money that was set aside for SASS is quickly allocated to the contract with that organization. I hope we can all take pride in a night of football and school spirit in which we not only celebrated a sporting win, but also took a moment and a dollar for a worthy cause in our community.

I love to think about my University as a place where we take care of each other. Where we are in a learning community, but also a place where other needs are met: where we can exercise our creativity, our athletic talents, and our willingness to help each other in addition to expanding our academic abilities. I am proud to know that the fees I pay to the UO provide services to the student body as a whole: to the library and the Craft Center, for maintaining our beautiful campus and for making all of us safer and more secure. I am proud of our Women's Center and the Survival Center in the EMU, where people can go to get information and help. I hope to report back to you shortly that these fabulous organizations are again being supported with the funding they need and deserve.