The Women’s Center graduate assistants invited students to decorate umbrellas with empowering messages on the Ceddia Union Building (CUB) patio in the spirit of Rape, Assault, and Incest National Network (RAINN) Day. RAINN Day is an annual event held on college campuses across the nation on the third Thursday of September to educate and raise awareness of sexual violence.

The promise of free cupcakes coaxed passing students to the umbrella-filled table where graduate assistants Deb Melendez and Chelsea Ksanznak spoke individually with students about the purpose and importance of RAINN.

RAINN is the largest anti-sexual violence organization in the United States, operating the first National Sexual Assault hotline, according to its official website, www.rainn.org.

Melendez described RAINN as a kind of umbrella, encompassing over the nation as an ever-ready resource to use as a means of protection against sexual violence.

“RAINN is like a hub to connect people to local resources,” Melendez said. “It’s like an umbrella,” she explained, motioning to the parasols before her.

Umbrellas decorated with positive words from past RAINN days were strewn across the CUB patio, with messages such as “Never forget you are important,” “Stay strong” and “Everyone deserves a happy ending, you have a second chance at one. Be positive!”

“I think that decorating the umbrella is a fun way to get people involved in a serious issue,” student Mackenzie Livingston said. Livingston is a member of Feminists Raising Empowerment and Equality (FREE).

Student Destiny Arocho agreed on the gravity of the topic, noting that more people should be aware of resources like RAINN because of the seriousness of sexual violence on campus.

“It’s an issue often overlooked,” student Jeremy Aiello said. “Attention needs to be turned to it to end it.”

Aiello wrote his own message on an umbrella, which read “the sunshine always comes out after the rain.”

Students who would like to show support may visit the Women’s Center, open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Women’s Center is located on the first floor of Horton Hall, Room 132.

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