Small white cards reading “Get Carded 2004” have steadily beencirculating among students through the University bookstore andresidence halls to help reduce the risk of sexual assault oncampus.
The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, based out ofWashington D.C., annually sponsors the Get Carded Program, saidAutumn Douglas, a dietician at the Student Health Center who iscoordinating the program at the University.
This is the second time the University has participated in theprogram. More than 10,000 cards have been distributed to dorms,sororities and the Women’s Center, Douglas said.
The University plans to participate in the program next year aswell.
Student Government is helping the University distribute thecards, said SG Vice President Jenny Byrd.
“We are just doing our part,” Byrd said. “We have distributedabout 200 cards ourselves and helped bring them to the halls andthe bookstore.”
There are extra cards available in the Student GovernmentOffice.
According to RAINN, which operates the national sexual assaulthotline, college students are at the highest risk for sexualassault and 80 percent of women who report being raped are youngerthan 25 years old.
Approximately 22 percent of raped women are between 18 and 24years old.
The cards are for men and women and include tips to help reducethe risk of sexual assault.
The 2004 program started on Sept. 23. RAINN hopes to reach 1.5million college students on more than 1,200 college campuses in all50 states and Washington D.C.
In 2003, more than 2,500 Get Carded volunteers distributed morethan one million pieces of information to students on more than 700campuses around the country.
The cards tell women on college campuses to take extraprecautions. According to the cards, women should stay in groups,take shuttles or buses instead of walking alone at night andrefrain from sexual activity when alcohol is involved.
If women are attacked, they are encouraged to preserve allevidence of the attack, report the assault to the police and go toa local hospital for sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancytesting.
The cards tell men to pay extra attention to their partners’words and body language and back off at any sign of refusal. Drugsand alcohol are not an excuse or alibi for sexual assault.