by Kirstin Nichols

Hundreds of University of Maryland students protested on McKeldin Mall for hours on Friday, demanding the university do more to combat sexual assault.

“I think the biggest thing is awareness. A lot of people are in the dark about sexual assault statistics on campus and in Greek life,” said Preventing Sexual Assault (PSA) co-president Hailey Chaikin.

The yearly event, called Occupy McKeldin, drew speakers like Emma Tang of intersectional.abc, Sophie Sandberg, who founded an initiative against street harassment called Catcalls of NYC, and Jeremy Hardy, who is a manager for the organization Men Can Stop Rape. 

Friday’s event was the first time in two years the event was in-person. Chaikin, a senior public relations major, said she was excited to once again advocate for sexual assault survivors in a large outdoor event. 

The main purpose of the event, Chaikin said, is to raise awareness about sexual assault on campus. And that’s not a given, sophomore psychology major Carly Erani said. She said she wasn’t aware that UMD had a sexual assault problem until she joined Greek life. 

“You don’t understand how much of a problem it is until you’re immersed in the culture in school,” Erani said. 

Chaikin said she wants people to be inclusive and well versed in how to support survivors and talk to perpetrators. 

“You never know it’s going to happen to you until it does,” said Chaikin. 

The protest featured guest speakers like kinesiology professor Ken Klotz, who provided a lesson in self defense training, and Brittany Piper, a sexual violence prevention expert and healing coach.

She asked the crowd to stand up if they know someone who has been sexually assaulted. The majority of attendees stood. She asked them to remain standing if that sexual assault was reported. Only a few students continued standing. When she asked if the perpetrator faced justice, no one remained standing.

“That’s what rape culture looks like. That is the easiest way that I can illustrate to you what rape culture is not just in our world, but in your community,” Piper said.

Maddy Murphy, PSA’s fundraising chair, said that the university has been doing an abysmal job at dealing with sexual assault.

“I just think it’s really disappointing and it’s embarrassing, honestly,” said Murphy. “They don’t even recognize that there’s a problem.”

PSA has spoken to the administration about sexual assault multiple times, but Murphy, a junior criminal justice and government major, said there have been no real results.

“The administration refuses to recognize it,” said Murphy. “People aren’t getting the justice they deserve.”

While the event focused on women’s safety, about one third of people in attendance were men.

Zach Goldman, a senior civil engineering major, came to the event because a lot of his friends were co-sponsors who advertised the event. He also wanted to “support and listen.”

“It’s important to understand what people are going through and listen and be there and just provide support,” said Goldman, a Sigma Phi Delta fraternity member.

Alec Pool, a junior computer science major, was also in attendance. After university president Darryll Pines said “I don’t think we have a big problem [with sexual assault] here in Greek life,” two Greek Life organizations sent a letter to the administration detailing problems with sexual assault and how the organizations plan to tackle it. Pool was one of the writers.

“It was really messed up that they said that it wasn’t an issue. I think it’s an issue everywhere, especially on a big college campus like this,” said Pool. “I hope that the administration sees that the student body cares about this.”

The event, which PSA has been planning since November, featured an opportunity to chalk the McKeldin Mall sidewalk with experiences of sexual harassment and assault attendees have experienced. 

Maddie Moroney, a sophomore kinesiology student, was one of many who took advantage of it and wrote that she was “catcalled while walking to class.”

“I feel like nobody should even have to worry about everyday life, watching their back to make sure they’re not harassed,” said Moroney.

Freshman communications major Lily Manning chalked her experience being told she was too smart to be a feminist. 

“This was said to me by somebody who I was really close to and cared about and it was really hurtful because it’s obviously invalidating,” said Manning. “I also think it’s kind of opposite of what should be said.”

Erani, who said she didn’t know that sexual assault was a problem, said that there need to be more awareness about ways to support survivors since most know that sexual assault is a problem in college.

“It’s such a hard problem to tackle because the people that we need to reach aren’t coming to these events, they’re just people that are sick in the head, but it’s a good place to start, I guess,” said Erani. “It’s good to show support for this cause that I feel very passionately about, and there’s not many things to do, so to be able to do something by coming out to this event I think is pretty good. It’s better than nothing.”

Claire Gearan said that the event feels like a “good step forward.”

“It’s very important that we’re here. I’m not excited that this event is happening, but it’s nice to see that so many organizations are actually trying to put their name out there and commit to stopping sexual assault because Maryland has a really big problem,” the sophomore sustainable agriculture major said.

The speeches concluded with sexual assault survivors sharing their stories of being assaulted, which the organizers had been planning since November. One speaker shared a story of repeated sexual assault they experienced as a child and another shared a story from high school. Saba Tshibaka, the co-founder of Black student group Black Terps Matter, spoke about Lieutenant Richard Collins III, who was viciously murdered by UMD students and urged the administration to make a proper memorial on campus.

PSA is planning a “denim day” on April 27th in which protestors will march on the McKeldin lawn in an effort to recognize sexual assault survivors, particularly those ridiculed for what they were wearing, according to Murphy.

Salem, PSA’s co-president, said that she hopes people realize people don’t have to be directly affected by sexual assault to care about the issue and work for change from the event. 

“You don’t have to be closely intertwined with this work to be an ally of survivors, and to play a role in preventing sexual assault,” she said.

Featured image: A poster at the rally states that sexual assault happens every 68 seconds, Friday, April 22, 2022. Photo by Joel Lev-Tov.