In May I wrote about how the University of California, Santa Cruz decided to cut their Sex and Consent Assembly for incoming freshmen and incorporate sexual assault prevention into their online education module. Last week, Tiffany from UCSC dropped by and left this update in the comments:

Rape Prevention Education, in its entirety, has now been officially cut from UC Santa Cruz. Our renowned program is now being submerged under the campus health organization, where rape survivors can help themselves to brochures about STIs/STDs, pregnancy, and psychological services. The physical office space is now nestled next to the pharmacy (nothing better than to “treat” rape alongside common colds). The interactive peer education workshop (that I have helped facilitate for the past two years) will be replaced by the campus Women’s Center informational session, which will cover topics including stalking, domestic violence, alcohol use, and even social networking websites all within one hectic hour. The workshop that I helped lead (which address gender expectations and power dynamics as the roots of sexual violence) is out the window, along with decades of experience and fine-tuning that Gillian has built into the script. Every word used to matter. The sex and consent assembly, as discussed in your post, will be replaced with an online multiple-choice module.

Nina Milliken has started a Coalition to Save Rape Prevention Education at UCSC. Please visit our website and review our brief list of demands for the administration: http://saverpe.hopto.org/

The Coalition’s website is GREAT. They clearly outline their goals, provide draft letters that can be sent to the administration, for students and for parents. They also link to their facebook page (with 1,227 members!!!!), which keeps folks updated, announce meetings, and coordinate. It’s an awesome example of how to use social media in your campus organizing. Super impressive, ya’ll—we’re looking forward to hearing about your success.