By Hannah Ziegler

The Preventing Sexual Assault (PSA) student group at the University of Maryland hosted its  annual Occupy McKeldin week from April 25-30 to raise awareness and support survivors of sexual assault on campus.

PSA canceled Occupy McKeldin last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. This year the event took place virtually and featured 18 speakers across five days of activities.

The theme of this year’s celebration was to elevate underrepresented voices. The PSA Instagram page focused on how sexual assault affects a different underrepresented minority group each day and included awareness posts how men, members of the LGBTQ community and people of color are impacted by sexual assault. 

“PSA was born out of Greek life, so most of our membership reflects that lack of diversity. We’ve worked hard this year to make PSA more intersectional, so I wanted this Occupy to reflect that,” said PSA President Lizzie Mafrici. 

Among the event highlights was a guest speech from Lindsey Boylan, the first woman to come out with allegations against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. 

“One of the most rewarding events was hearing Lindsey Boylan speak to us. As a New Yorker, I never thought that that would be an opportunity that I would have,” said future PSA co-president Rachel Salem. “It was a once in a lifetime experience.”

Among other guest speakers was Sophie Sandberg, a street artist, gender-justice activist and founder of the Instagram account and initiative Catcalls of NYC. Sandberg writes the catcalls experienced by women in New York on the streets of Manhattan in chalk. PSA also hosted a Q&A Monday with Lucy Taylor who founded a podcast of reflections on sorority culture. 

Although the event’s speakers were virtual, PSA used their connections in Greek life to create a physical presence for Occupy McKeldin on the UMD campus. More than 20 Greek life chapters at UMD sponsored this year’s event, alleviating funding stressors presented to the organization by the pandemic. 

“I was worried we wouldn’t have support because chapters have smaller budgets now,” Mafrici said. “I thought it was going to be an uphill battle, but a lot of chapters just made it work.”

In addition to financial support, many Greek life chapters flew banners outside their houses to promote consent and show allyship with sexual assault survivors. Mafrici had the idea to use banners when she joined the organization three years ago. Now that it has come to fruition, she could not be happier with the results. 

“I am so proud of the banners,” Mafrici said. “To walk around Old Town and see them everywhere fortifies the idea that other people on campus care about this issue.”

Members of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity hung a banner that read “no does not mean ‘convince me'” outside their chapter house.

“We wanted to make it known that our chapter stands against sexual assault. We want to influence other Greek life organizations to make the community safer,” said Mike Panvini, a junior public relations major in Lambda Chi.

Panvini’s fraternity brother, junior graphic design major Jordan Goldstein, added that flying the banner set an example for students new to Greek life.

“Our younger guys should know that that behavior is never accepted,” Goldstein said. “We will hold each other accountable, and we want other chapters to do the same.”

PSA is one of few student organizations that experienced growth during the pandemic. The organization had 17 members last March. Since then, its membership has increased to over 100 students with a general body and multiple committees. 

“Most student organizations paused their efforts, but we kept going. Over the last year, students have been looking for ways to get involved,” Mafrici said.

PSA’s social media following also increased this year which, executives say, contributed to the success of this year’s event. 

“Our social media presence has helped people feel more a part of this year’s Occupy. The more you can inform people, the more they can have educational conversations, and the more they feel part of something,” said current PSA Executive Historian and future co-President Hailey Chaikin.

PSA hopes to spread awareness in the future using the passion for activism that many students developed this year.

“Since last summer, it’s become more popular to be an advocate. So many people see an organization doing good and want to help,” Chaikin said. 

The first step in this activism, Chaikin says, is incorporating a diverse array of voices when raising awareness – just as PSA did this week. 

“We can’t just advocate for our cause. We have to advocate for all different people and causes because we all want to make the world better,” Chaikin said.

Regardless of whether the event is in person or virtual, Mafrici said the end goal of PSA hosting the event will always be the same.

“My favorite part of Occupy has always been that I end the day knowing that I’m not alone,” Mafrici said.  “I think that will always be the goal.”

Featured photo: Kappa Delta Alpha sorority flew a banner reading “consent is sexy” outside their chapter house during PSA’s Occupy McKeldin week. Hannah Ziegler/Stories Beneath the Shell.