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For the first time ever, UNM will have a publication dedicated to victims of on-campus sexual assaults.
“Saturday Night: Untold Stories of Sexual Assault at UNM” is an upcoming website that will publish written accounts and artistic expressions of sexual assault on campus. It is an anonymous publication that allows those affected by campus sexual assault to safely share their stories.
Angela Catena, a graduate student assistant at the UNM Women’s Resource Center, is publishing the site. Women’s Resource Center Interim Director Summer Little said “Saturday Night” will accept student submissions until March 10, and the annual publication should be published online in April, during Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
After Catena arrived at UNM last fall and began work at the WRC, she spoke to the head of the center about raising awareness of campus sexual assaults. In Catena’s search, she discovered “Saturday Night,” an online publication at Duke University that promotes campus sexual assault awareness. The publication began in 2003 and the concept of “Saturday Night” quickly spread, as other universities across the country produced similar publications.
“I thought this online journal would be a way for people to come together as a community and let them know that this isn’t a rare event on a college campus and that they’re not alone,” Catena said.
Little said contributing to publications such as “Saturday Night” helps victims through the healing process.
“We’re hoping that that is a benefit for people who want to share their story. Speaking out has a lot of power and sexual violence is about taking somebody’s power, so whatever survivors can do to take their power back is beneficial for them,” she said.
Little said campus sexual assaults tend to go unreported.
According to UNMPD crime statistics, there were two reported on-campus sexual assaults in 2011 and two in 2010, while in 2009 there were six on-campus sexual assaults reported, including three assaults reported in residential facilities. During the 2012 fall semester, there was one reported rape and one other case of sexual assault reported. Two months into this spring semester, there have been two reported sexual assaults.
“Yes, we have very few that are reported to the police on a yearly basis, but that doesn’t mean our campus is immune,” Little said. “We know that sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes and so by people speaking up, it helps other people not feel alone.”
Little said she hopes the publication helps victims of sexual assault feel they are not alone in their situation.
“I think a lot of times we come on to campus and we get really focused on what happens here — those kinds of personal experiences come on to campus with us, they’re always inside,” she said.
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To submit to “Saturday Night: Untold Stories of Sexual Assaults at UNM,” head to women.unm.edu and click on “Saturday Night Consent Form,” or apply in person at the Women’s Resource Center in Mesa Vista Hall.
