On May 13, the Women’s Empowerment Club (WEC) displayed a sexual assault prevention banner in the lobby near the main office. “Sexual assault is not the victim’s fault!” was the slogan, followed by: “It is up to us to make sexual assault unacceptable.”  The banner serves to support the victims of sexual assault and condemn the misconception that sexual assault is provoked by the victim’s clothing or actions.
During the week of May 4, students signed WEC’s banner to show support for the cause. “We were very happy to see people signing up and cheering us on for the banner,” said junior and co-founder of WEC, Geneva Rata. Many students were very supportive, but some were critical of the banner. “I was even happy to see the negative attention it brought because it reminds me how important it is that the banner and the Women’s Empowerment Club exist in the first place,” said Rata.
The banner received plenty of signatures, from teachers and students alike. The school community banded together and made the fight against sexual assault positive. “I’m really excited that the banner is hung because, based on the amount of signatures we got, a lot of people support its cause,” said Rata. “Having more people think about how horrifying sexual assault is will definitely help prevent it.”