UC Tags Info On Grants

Party grants now come with strings attached.

Students who receive alcohol reimbursements will now also get free advice on how to prevent sexual assaults, as a result of a bill passed last night by the Undergraduate Council (UC).

The bill, which aims to improve campus safety, obligates the UC to distribute a pamphlet with tips for preventing sexual assault and facts about date rape drugs to recipients of the grants.

“I think it is a great way to ensure a fun campus that is safe as well,” said Student Advisory Committee Chair and president-elect, Ryan A. Petersen d’08, who co-sponsored the bill with Ariana Kroshinsky ’08.

According to the National College Women Sexual Victimization study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Justice, up to 25 percent of women might be assaulted during their college years.

The pamphlet emphasizes the dangers associated with alcohol—the number one drug associated with sexual assault, according to the its authors.

It urges students to “let your friends know that it is not okay for them to take advantage of someone sexually” and to remember that “an unconscious or intoxicated person can’t give consent. Without consent, it’s sexual assault.”

“By equipping people with the tools to have safer parties, we are in turn spending our money better,” said UC Vice President, Annie R. Riley ’07.

The UC collaborated with the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (OSAPR), which has an advisory committee composed of the office staff, various faculty members, and student representatives, to compose the flyer.

The pamphlet provides students with the number of the OSAPR 24-hr confidential student support center to report instances of rape and receive assistance from trained staff.

—Staff writer Sonam S. Velani can be reached at svelani@fas.harvard.edu.