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A newsletter for the students, faculty and staff of the Collin College. Published monthly. For information or submissions, call 972.599.3142. Cougar News welcomes student and faculty submissions. Next deadline: April 10 All submissions are due by 5 p.m. on the due date. Photos cannot be returned. Text should be emailed to mrobinson@ccccd.edu or sent on disk. Please submit copy that is proofed, edited and saved in Word format. Cougar News staff: Lisa Vasquez, director; Mark Robinson, editor; Marcy Cadena-Smith, contributor; Dana Schmitz, contributor; Sydney Portilla-Diggs, campus correspondent; Stephanie Hall, student correspondent; Nick Young, photographer and layout.
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Know the truth behind sexual assault
Regardless of the relationship between two people, non-consensual sex is assault.
Many women who are sexually assaulted by their husbands or boyfriends don’t call it rape because they feel that having sex is a duty that will prove their love. But sexual assault is primarily a crime of power and control. Everyone – whether married or single and dating – has the right to be in charge of and make decisions about their own body. The real way to prove love is through mutual respect and communication. Forced sex is not a sign of love.
Sexual assault is not:
• the victim's bad decision
• a moral weakness
• an inability to be heard or understood
• about whether you fought back or froze
Sexual assault is:
• about power and control
• a crime for which the perpetrator can be held accountable
(Source: www.rcccc.org)
If you or someone you know is in immediate danger from sexual assault, call 911 for off campus help. If you are on campus, call Collin College Campus Police at 972.578.5555. Any experience of sexual assault in the past or present can impact your life. For assistance in coping with the aftermath, call Collin’s Counseling Services at 972.881.5126, The Turning Point (the Rape Crisis Center of Collin County) at 972.985.0951 or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1.800.656.HOPE.
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April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Collin College and The Turning Point will host the 4th annual candlelight vigil – “Our Community, Our Responsibility: Joining Together to End Sexual Violence” – to commemorate survivors of sexual assault and to raise awareness of issues related to prevention and intervention. The candlelight vigil will be held at 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 25, in the Spring Creek Campus atrium. Highlighting the evening will be Lavinia B. Masters, author, entrepreneur, loving wife, mother, sexual assault survivor and a victims’ advocate. Lavinia is a national speaker for Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), speaker and volunteer for Friends of the Family Denton County, a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) member and a spokesperson for the Dallas Police Department Sexual Assault Cold Case Program (SECAP) initiative.
For additional information, contact Sandy Suvannackhham, Services for Violence Against Women at 972.881.5820.
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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