Letter from Director: Self-Love & Community Love

Hi Everyone,

With Valentine’s Day coming up, I’ve been thinking a lot about the ways that love and care show up in our lives, and that not always being in the context of romantic/sexual relationships with others. Self-love is also a really important part of our emotional well-being, and the ways we care for ourselves is incredibly important. With that being said, I wonder if there are ways that while we are thinking about showing love and care to others during this holiday season, how we might also do the same for ourselves. Write a valentine to yourself, send yourself a box of chocolates, take yourself on a date!

This holiday is also a great time to show love and care to others in our community. In line with this idea, we’ve got an exciting program coming up: Survivor Love Letter Tabling Event. On Tuesday, February 12th and Thursday, February 14th from 11 am – 1pm, stop by our table in Usdan to connect with the PHA’s and to write a love letter to a survivor. We will have plenty of fun art supplies and candy to enjoy. The #SurvivorLoveLetters Campaign was originally founded by Tani Ikeda and has since become a symbol of self-love and empowerment for survivors of sexual violence worldwide.

The intent behind this campaign is to promote self-love and challenge rape culture through letters, notes and words of encouragement supporting survivors of sexual violence. Showing care to the survivors in our community, whether we know who they are or not, could mean the world to someone who is struggling in silence. So make someone’s day and get crafty in the process!

In addition, we’ve got some other exciting things happening in the SACE Office this month.

Upcoming Events:

  • WSWS Bystander Demo: this past Wednesday, February 6th we held a demo of the new Bystander Intervention Training curriculum created by WesWell & the SACE Office to train current facilitators and welcome new facilitators.
  • Survivor Support Group: Starting on Wednesday, February 27th at 7 pm Supportive healing space for folks whom identify as survivors. Stay tuned for more details and a flyer in the next week or so!
  • Stalking Awareness Program: On Wednesday, February 20th, in Usdan 110, Lt. Paul Verrillo and I will be co-facilitating an interactive workshop on the dynamics of stalking on campus. We will explore definitions of stalking, myths and stereotypes about stalking romanticized in the media, red flags, and resources for care and support for survivors.

I hope to see you at some of these events, or otherwise connect on campus. In the meantime, I wish everyone all the best and hope the semester continues to go well!

Take care,
Johanna