Group to pass out condoms, candy

One in four girls in college will be raped before she leaves school, according to Robin Warshaw’s book, “I Never Called it Rape.” The IU group RAISE, which stands for Raising Awareness of Interactions in Sexual Encounters, is trying to spread the message about consent and sexual assault throughout campus today by passing out condoms and candy to people passing by Ballantine Hall at 11 a.m.\n“Sexual assault is a hard issue we are trying to bring light on it,” said Kristen Jozkowski, a graduate student and RAISE coordinator. “We are trying to make people aware of it but we don’t want to make people feel like we are blaming them. We want to advertise our message but not try to blame anyone or have anyone feel bad about having sex.”\nAnother way the group does this is through a program called “He Said ... She Said,” which documents two different characters’ depictions of what happened on the night of a sexual assault.\n“It is a really applicable situation that could happen in real life, and probably happens on the weekend,” Jozkowski said. “The people are typical college students. We talk about the issues that led up to sexual assault. We want people to feel comfortable to talk about it.”\n“He Said ... She Said” is shown in many greek houses, residence halls and classrooms. After seeing this program, freshman Abby Seeger decided to get involved. \n“I saw the program at IFS (Intensive Freshman Seminar) and it was very informative,” she said. “They have a great message and I just really wanted to get involved.”\nRAISE offers many programs to the students who want to be active in the organization, other than “He Said ... She Said.” RAISE also has options for students who do not want to actively speak to their peers. These students have the option of handing out condoms at events, such as at the bars during Little 500 week. They can also sell T-shirts that help support and fund the group. Freshman Erienne Madrid said the cause is a beneficial one. \n“It is important that people feel they can communicate about sexuality in a healthy way which is what I feel the group is trying to promote,” she said.\nStudents wanting to get involved in RAISE can attend the meetings held at 3:30 p.m. every Friday in the Office of Women’s Affairs, located in Memorial Hall 122. RAISE is also training new program presenters from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. People interested in joining the group can attend the meeting. Jozkowski said it is important that people become informed about this group. \n“A lot of college students go out and party, and they might find themselves in that situation and it would be helpful for them to have a guide of how to handle that situation,” she said. “We want people to watch out for each other as well.”