Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
March 28, 2024

SARU outlines focus on student engagement

By FAITH TERRY | September 22, 2016

A5_SARU-1024x681

ELLIE HALLENBORG/PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR SARU invites students and the community to join the fight against sexual assault.

The Sexual Assault Resource Unit (SARU) hosted an informational panel to promote the club’s resources and its upcoming activities this semester. The group, which advocates for increased awareness and education on the issues of rape culture, sexual violence and consensual relationships, held the panel on Friday, Sept. 16 on the Freshman Quad.

The organization’s officers greeted students who approached the table with food, handouts and informational pamphlets, encouraging students to ask any questions about the goals and structure of the club. The information session was also a way to encourage students to apply to SARU.

Despite the approaching deadline for applications, SARU Events Co-Chair Chase Alston told students not to worry.

“The application is quick,” Alston said. “It’s intended mostly to ensure that the group is a safe space for survivors.”

Recruiting new members was not SARU’s only goal for the event, according to Events Co-Chair Mayuri Viswanathan.

“We’re trying to get to know some new people around campus,” Viswanathan said. “We want to make sure people are aware of the resources we have available, including our hotline.”

SARU members operate a 24-hour crisis hotline, and the students who run the hotline are trained in counseling and confidentiality.

In addition to spreading the word about SARU’s many resources for students, Alston told curious students about the various team-building projects the club has planned for the coming months.

“We want to have more social events like this one later on in the year to help foster a community within the different members,” Alston said. “For our members, we want to build a safe space as well as a community.”

Viswanathan said that in the future, the club is also looking to involve even those who are not members of SARU, including all students on campus and members of the Baltimore community.

“We’re going to have more events open to the general student body, and we hope these will help students become more educated and involved in the topics we address,” Viswanathan said. “We’re looking to hold more events that speak to the theme of what we are as an organization but also present us with the opportunity to get off campus, so we’re planning to take members of our community out into Baltimore, to a few different venues.”

According to Viswanathan, this kind of community involvement is essential to helping SARU become closer as an organization.

“We’d really like to get more involved in the Baltimore community with things that are related to our mission and the things that we advocate,” she said. “We’d like for members to participate in community events and have a chance to experience the ‘real world.’”

The club leaders promoted one upcoming event in particular: SARU’s Night Out. While SARU has not yet announced the details for this year’s SARU’s Night Out, in the past it has included dinner in Baltimore and featured keynote speakers such as attorney and activist Laura Dunn.

Alston said that the organization is planning to involve other student groups in their advocacy and events.

“For the previous year or so, we’ve had a lot of partnerships with other groups here on campus for projects that fit within both their mission statements and ours,” Alston said. “I think continuing to do that would allow us to get our message out across campus.”

The group’s decision to hold the panel on the Freshman Quad maximized its impact and gave members the chance to talk to students one-on-one in order to increase interest in the club.

“We’re targeting foot traffic, and we hope people stop to ask us questions, freshman or not,” Viswanathan said. “We want to make our presence on campus known and make sure people feel comfortable approaching us.”


Have a tip or story idea?
Let us know!

Comments powered by Disqus

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The News-Letter.