On Monday, Sept. 7, join Zeta Psi and Men of Strength on the Quad for a “Splashdown”. This event will be “a water balloon fight aiming to raise awareness about sexual assault on college campuses and the community at large,” according to their Facebook event. They also encourage people to wear a bathing suit and bring a towel. The event will benefit the DC Rape Crisis Center and aims is to raise awareness for violence against women.
Her Campus American University spoke with the Philanthropy Chair, Tom Luby, on why this event is important and why you should attend.
Her Campus American University: Why did you choose to partner with AU Men of Strength?Tom Luby: Since our chapter was re-founded back in 2009, the brothers took a stance against sexual assault, be it for personal and/or moral reasons. This logically led to them getting involved with Men of Strength, an organization that informs and educates men on campus about their role in the problem of sexual assault. Since then we have grown our involvement within Men of Strength and have partnered with them in several event over the last few years.
HCAU: Why did you decide to take part in this event?TL: When thinking of a philanthropy event that both raised awareness and affirmed our stance in regard to sexual assault, we wanted an event that would engage the students on AU’s campus in a fun activity but would also allow them to see the scope of the problem on our campus and campuses across the country. Sexual assault both on and off college campuses affects everyone, regardless of whether or not you are a survivor, a survivor’s friend, family, etc.
This mindset and this mission is why we chose the DC Rape Crisis Center as the beneficiary of the event. It’s important to be an ally of survivors and it’s even more important to help and encourage those who stand by them when they need it most. When talking to people about stepping up and getting involved with education and prevention, they feel that there’s not much they can do to solve the problem. The goal of this event is to not only help out a great organization, but to give students and faculty the opportunity to see that they can make an impact and to connect them with an organization that needs their support and the support of the community.
HCAU: Why do you think the DC Rape Crisis Center is such an important organization?
TL: The brothers of our chapter feel it’s important to support community organizations especially those that utilize grassroots methods. The DCRCC counsels and offers emergency support to survivors while also empowering the community to fight rape culture and equip themselves to provide support for survivors. It was established as one of the first rape crisis centers in the country and has been working to protect survivors since 1972. This is a cause that we feel needs to be supported and Splashdown is our way of showing solidarity.
HCAU: Dan Backer will be present at the event. Who is he and why is it important that he be present?TL: Dan Backer is very active in the DC area as an attorney at his own law firm, DB Capitol Strategies. Last year he took part in landmark Supreme Court case, McCutcheon V FEC, which struck down aggregate spending limits on individual contributions in Federal Elections.
HCAU: Finally, why do you think people should attend?TL: We feel this can be a fun and exciting way to engage the students and faculty of AU in a way that promotes safe behavior and also gives them a chance to support a really awesome organization. It’s a way to escape the Labor Day heat and a great activity to blow off some steam.
Check out the group’s Facebook page and also learn more about Dan Backer and the DC Rape Crisis Center.