Revolution Against Rape held a sit-in on Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. outside the Rowe Center for Undergraduate Education where a group of students held signs and protested victim blaming on Fairfield Way.
Revolution Against Rape was created in 2011 and has been holding an annual March to End Victim Blaming since 2014, originally called SlutWalk.
The students protested with the goal of drawing attention to end victim blaming. They held signs and laid them on the ground.
The students chanted phrases including “No means no,” “End rape culture,” “We believe you” and “UConn, do better.”
Revolution Against Rape’s President Hannah Pierson, an eighth-semester nursing student who has been a part of RAR since her sophomore year, said, “They’ve just shown a lack of support.”
Pierson also shared her thoughts regarding President Maric’s Task Force for Combaing Sexual Violence and Supporting Our Students, which was formed in February 2022.
“It was just a waste of time because they didn’t do anything and they decided that they would fix it in a couple of months, which is just not how that works,” said Pierson. “The worst part about it was that they included a section of like, yeah, we heard Revolution Against Rape’s demands, and we took that into account, and none of our demands were taken into account.”
RAR’s Vice President Grian Wizner read a speech originally written for the eighth annual March Against Victim Blaming.
Wizner said into a megaphone, “It saddens my heart that UConn as an institution has not changed enough for students to feel protected in a place we’re expected to call home.”
Wizner also said that on campus, “more than 50% of the blue lights are broken.”
University of Connecticut Spokesperson Stephanie Reitz contended this claim.
“This is false. The blue light phones are tested quarterly on all campuses by UConn Public Safety in coordination with ITS,” said Reitz in an email. “The most recent review of the phones found that four of the 230 blue light phones at Storrs were out of service; they were immediately repaired. One each was out of service at Avery Point and Stamford; both were immediately repaired. The phones were in full working condition at all other locations.” The Daily Campus could not independently verify this claim.
Students spoke about the investigation conducted February to July 2023, which found that the head officer of the UConn Police Special Victims Unit, Detective Marc Hanna, violated the department’s operating procedure on seven different counts, including multiple instances of workplace harassment.
“It’s very disheartening to know that the people who are supposed to be protecting us are abusing us.”
RAR’s Vice President Grian Wizner
“When students say a UCPD officer blamed them for their experience with sexual violence, an issue consistent with students from 2011, it screams enough is not being done,” Wizner read from the speech.
Regarding Detective Hanna, Wizner said, “It’s very disheartening to know that the people who are supposed to be protecting us are abusing us.”
Reitz spoke to the issues raised by this claim, stating the SVU still cares about pursuing justice.
“It’s very disheartening to know that the people who are supposed to be protecting us are abusing us.”
RAR’s Vice President Grian Wizner
“The UConn Police Department and its Special Victims Unit (SVU) care deeply about pursuing justice on behalf of survivors of sexual assault and handling their cases with the utmost diligence, care and sensitivity,” said Reitz.
“With respect to this employee, UConn Police immediately launched an internal affairs investigation upon learning of concerns and complaints regarding the officer’s behavior,” said Reitz. “The department worked closely with UConn Human Resources and the Office of Institutional Equity, as well as following the procedures required under the collective bargaining agreement under which the employee is covered.”
David Tinker, a fourth year applied mathematical sciences major said, “there aren’t a lot of people here, because at the end of the day, it is something that people are able to ignore, unless they cannot, and this stuff is incredibly important because it forces you to pay attention.”