Building Community for Ongoing Cause

Runners on the move for the first annual Run for Hope awareness event.

Photo by Matt Atwood '15.

Run for Hope kicks off Sexual Assault Awareness Month

by Tony Moore

New this year, Run for Hope was held over the weekend as the first of many events scheduled on campus for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, which begins April 1. The event, a 5K run, raised roughly $3,000 for YWCA Rape Crisis Services of Carlisle and drew 500 registrants.

“The event was inspired by women's empowerment,” said Carson Koser ’15, who, along with Kelly Wilt, coordinator of Dickinson’s Prevention, Education & Advocacy Center, conceived of and organized the run to inspire a “theme of hope for the month.”

One in five women and one in 13 men will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetime, and Run for Hope was held to shed light on those stark numbers.

“We believe these statistics can change and that we all have a role to play in making a difference,” Koser said, noting that Run for Hope, while being a fundraiser and vehicle for awareness, also has created a strong bond between the Women's & Gender Resource Center and campus sororities. “We brought in sorority women to harness the power that sororities have and … rally the community around this issue and show how strong and powerful women are.”

Sexual assault is an ongoing issue on college campuses around the nation, and with so many participating this inaugural run, Dickinson's commitment to creating a safe and inclusive community was on full display.

“It was very rewarding having so many friends and peers want to celebrate our hard work and give back,” Koser said. “There is a lot of momentum around this cause, and I'm looking forward to seeing how this event progresses in the future.”

The run was sponsored by Dickinson sororities in collaboration with the Prevention, Education & Advocacy Center and established in conjunction with the Women’s & Gender Resource Center. Other sponsors included the Office of Student Life, the Office of the President, the Department of Women’s & Gender Studies, Dining Services, athletics and the Interfraternity Council.

Upcoming Sexual Assault Awareness Month events

April 6
Coming Back to Ourselves: Yoga for everybody
5 - 6 p.m., Allison 020

April 14
Women's & Gender Studies Faculty Research Lunch
noon – 1 p.m., Landis House 

April 15
Take Back the Night, featuring a keynote address by Dr. Salamishah Tillet, survivor, scholar and founder of A Long Walk Home
7 p.m., Allison Hall

April 19
Green Dot Bystander Intervention Training for Students
10 a.m. - 3 p.m., HUB siderooms 204-206

April 27 - May 2
Shine on the Day Art Show
Library Reference Commons

April 28
Shine on the Day Reception and Opening Performance
5:30 p.m., Britton Plaza 

Learn More

Published March 31, 2015