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Connecticut College to host lecture series on human rights and sexual assault March 27 and 28

March 07, 2008

NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Connecticut College Department of Gender and Women´s Studies and the Office of Student Life will host a series of lectures, events and discussions addressing issues of sexual assault on college campuses within the framework of human rights March 27 and 28. The two-day series, "The Right to Security of Person: Creating A Campus Free of Sexual Assault," will be attended by students, faculty and administrators. Colleges and universities across the country are working to improve sexual assault prevention and response, and the Connecticut College series is designed to help the college community integrate the most effective techniques.

"Research shows that college women are one of the highest risk groups for sexual assault in the United States," Professor Mab Segrest, chair of the Gender and Women´s Studies Department, said. "We´re excited to apply the principles of human rights developed by women from all over the world in the past 60 years to our local setting."

This inaugural series was planned in part by senior gender and women´s studies students. "Drawing connections between human rights and sexual assault is an innovative aspect of gender and women´s studies," Segrest said. "This event is the result of the support and collaboration between students, faculty and the administration."

All events are free and open to the public and will take place on the Connecticut College campus. The schedule is as follows:

Thursday, March 27

- "Women´s Health and Human Rights," by Loretta Ross, co-founder and director of SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective, 4 p.m. in Ernst Common Room, Blaustein Humanities Center. A reception will follow in the college´s new Women´s Center, located in the basement of Smith/Burdick House.

- "Sex Signals," a performance by an improvisational theater group that mixes comedy, education and audience interaction to provoke discussions about dating, social pressures, sex and issues of consent, 7 p.m. in Oliva Hall, Cummings Art Center.

Friday, March 28

- "The Latest Research on Campus Sexual Assault," by Patricia Rozee, professor of psychology and women´s studies at the University of California Long Beach, 10 a.m. in the Ernst Common Room, Blaustein Humanities Center.

- "Men´s Responsibility in Countering Violence Against Women," by Ed Blunt, a consultant who works with educational institutions and businesses to help improve their cultures, 10:30 a.m. in the Ernst Common Room, Blaustein Humanities Center.

- "Best Practices for Campus Responses," by Heather Karjane, author of "Sexual Assault on Campuses: What Colleges and Universities Are Doing About It" and coordinator for Gender Issues for the Massachusetts´ Administrative Office of the Trial Court, 12:45 p.m. in the Ernst Common Room, Blaustein Humanities Center.

Among the most selective private liberal arts colleges in the nation, Connecticut College enrolls 1,900 men and women from 41 states, the District of Columbia and 42 countries. The college is known for putting the liberal arts into action through interdisciplinary studies, international programs, funded internships, student-faculty research and service learning. Founded in 1911, the college operates under an 86-year-old honor code. The college is located at 270 Mohegan Ave, New London, about two hours by car from Boston and New York. The 750-acre campus is an arboretum overlooking Long Island Sound. For more information, visit www.connecticutcollege.edu.

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For more information contact: Amy Sullivan (860) 439-2526; amy.sullivan@conncoll.edu