CSUMB

RISING
Miranda Squires, Staff Reporter
MSQUIRES@CSUMB.EDU

A friend comes to you distraught;

her boyfriend is always asking
where she is, who shes with,
what shes doing or wearing
and he doesnt trust her when
she tells him she is doing homework with you at the library.
This seems relatively nonthreatening, but what most people dont know is that this is
the first stage of a vicious cycle
of dating or domestic violence.
In protest of ending sexual discrimination and violence against
women, California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) is
taking part in One Billion Rising,
calling it CSUMB Rising. The
movement created by Eve Ensler,
writer of the Vagina Monologues.
According to helpguide.com,
Physical abuse is not just hitting.
Abuse can be kicking, shoving,
pushing, pulling hair, throw-

Photos provided by 1 Billion Rising

ON V-DAY OUR CAMPUS RISES TO

ELIMINATE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

ing things, scarring or following

you, or keeping you from freely
coming and going... This type
of violence not only becomes a
violation of university policy,
but a violation of federal law.
As Deputy Title IX Coordinator for California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB),
Anna Bartkowski reports, investigates, mediates, and tries to
prevent sexual discrimination on
campus. She is also in charge of
raising awareness and creating
campaigns to educate individuals about sexual discrimination.
Title IX is a federal law that
prohibits sexual discrimination
at any federal institution in the
United States, protecting any
member of the campus community, on and off campus and at
official and nonofficial events.
Sexual discrimination includes:
sexual assault, harassment, dating

or domestic violence and stalking.

These are all gender or sex based
offenses that diminish an individuals opportunities for education.
After attending the 1 Billion
Rising event in San Francisco last
year, an international campaign
to protest domestic violence,
Bartkowski felt empowered and
decided to bring the event to the
CSUMB campus. She said We
have a duty to keep our campus
safe and a duty to respond to the
incidents, to remedy the incidents
and to prevent any recurrence.
According to the 1 Billion Rising website, this campaign is ...
based on the staggering statistic
that 1 in 3 women on the planet
will be beaten or raped during
her lifetime. This adds up to
more than one billion women
and girls facing sexual discrimination, per year. In light of this,
on February 14th, 2012 1 Billion

Photo provided by 1 Billion Rising

www.otterrealm.com

Rising launched a movement,

V-Day, where men and women around the world [gather] to
dance in protest of this statistic.
The V-Day movement was
inspired by Eve Enslers Vagina Monologues, also featured
in this issue, a successful play
telling womens stories about
their connections with each other and the rest of the world performed at CSUMB each year.
The CSUMB Rising event will
be held on Friday, Feb. 13 from 2
p.m. to 5 p.m. in the main quad,
focusing on sexual assault. There

are a variety of organizations who

are sponsoring and supporting
this campaign including: The
University Police Department,
the Asian Pacific Islander Association, Sodexo, the Title IX
Task Force, Associated Students
(AS), the Music and Performing Arts Department, and more.
With performances from many
different groups on campus and
the local community, there will be
singing, dancing and even a flashmob to unite our student body
against ending sexual and gender
based violence in our community.

Image provided by CSUMB Rising

17 | Otter Realm | February 12, 2015