The prayer vigil will be held on Thursday, April 23 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Chapel Basement Prayer Closet, room 203. Volunteers will pray in 20-minute segments for society to focus efforts on treating women and men in the way they should be treated. The wreath project will involve a wreath that will travel to different locations during the week. Calvin students are encouraged to tie a ribbon on the wreath for each person they know that has been sexually assaulted. Cream or purple ribbons represent female victims, and green represent male victims.
Statistics show that one in nine college men have been victims of rape or attempted rape.
On Thursday, it will be moved to the chapel basement and on Friday, it will be back in the library lobby. As wreaths are traditionally used in memorials, so this wreath is a reminder that the victims of sexual assault should not be forgotten. Calvin Social Research Class in a 1992 survey revealed that 11.5 percent of the women on Calvin s campus have been victims of rape since age 14. Out of the 2,316 women currently at Calvin, that adds up to 266 women. The threat of sexual assault is not as remote as students might hope, but with proper education, such as is provided during Sexual Assault Awareness Week, personal threat can be reduced.