Students in the Psychology Club at Central Lakes College have been stationed by the cafeteria all this week in an effort to end the stigma and educate their fellow students on the issue of sexual assault.

“We really decided to do sexual assault just because it’s a serious issue. I mean, it’s really, really common to hear about sexual assault and it’s kind of a lot of times put off,” said Chayna Cusey, CLC Psychology Club President.

Members of the CLC Psychology Club are stationed by the cafeteria all week to talk to students and raise awareness about sexual violence.

“Kind of ending the misconceptions that surround sexual assault and it’s okay to not be okay,” added CLC Psychology Club Vice President Dalerie DeRosier.

The students wore t-shirts with common myths about sexual assault. “Like, ‘oh, if you weren’t wearing those clothes, it wouldn’t have happened,’ or, ‘you should have expected it to happen,’ but the truth is it happens to everybody, anywhere, any race, any clothes that you’re wearing,” explained DeRosier.

The students in the psychology club were motivated to take this project on after seeing all the recent cases in the media.

“On a national level, [there’s] the “Me Too” movement and the Supreme Court nominations. It keeps coming up and it keeps coming up, but we keep hearing people use and explain it with myths like, ‘if she hadn’t been dressed that way’ or ‘she should be able to remember everything,” said Alita Reque-Peterson, CLC Psychology Instructor.

Sexual violence and psychology go hand-in-hand.

“Through psychology we are able to understand our memory’s a very reconstructive process, and we’re able to understand when trauma happens, the hormone cortisol can impact our memory and how the recollection of events is not always a clear-cut picture,” explained Reque-Peterson.

The club members think it is very important to educate the community, especially on college campuses where one in five females will experience a form of sexual assault.

“It’s important to make sure students know and are aware of what’s consent, what’s no, what’s assault, what’s harassment and to be safe in their relationships and to know if something does happen, ‘where do I get help and how do I go about handling this,’” said Reque-Peterson.

The students will be stationed in by the cafeteria from noon to 1:00 p.m. Thursday and Friday of this week.

By — Rachel Johnson

Lakeland News Lead Reporter