‘Live Well’ Theme at Health and Wellness Fair, SAAM, Denim Day
Health and Wellness Fair
The Cypress College Health Center is proud to bring to our campus community our annual Health and Wellness Fair on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. between Humanities and the Humanities Lecture Halls. This year’s theme is “Live Well” with an emphasis on whole-health and making healthy and informed choices. We have invited community partners to provide information and education on various health and wellness topics such as sexual assault prevention, HIV prevention, LGBTQ+ services, sexual/reproductive health, mental health, alcohol and substance abuse, and more. Additionally, we have invited Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA) to provide our campus with 30-minute Naloxone Trainings throughout the duration of the Fair. Every half hour starting at 11:30 a.m., OCHCA will provide trainings and a free Naloxone Kit for every member in attendance, while supplies lasts.
SAAM
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM), and we are delighted to share our continued commitment to honor SAAM, acknowledge victim/survivors experiences, and unite as a community to express our stance against sexual violence. We invite everyone on campus to wear teal throughout the month of April or wear teal ribbons to demonstrate support on campus. Through our continued partnership with Waymakers OC, we have invited the Clothesline Project to our Health and Wellness Fair to demonstrate their powerful and impactful clothesline made up of t-shirts that tell the stories of sexual assault survivors. Please join us to discuss education, advocacy, and awareness.
Denim Day
April 24 is also national Denim Day. Denim Day is a national social campaign, brought to you by Peace Over Violence, that celebrates its 25th anniversary this year in bringing awareness to affirmative consent and supporting survivors of sexual assault. Join millions of people across the world that will wear jeans with a purpose, support survivors, and educate themselves and others about all forms of sexual violence.
History of Denim Day
In Italy in 1992, an 18-year old girl is picked up by her married 45-year-old driving instructor for her very first lesson. He takes her to an isolated road, pulls her out of the car, wrestles her out of one leg of her jeans, and forcefully rapes her. Threatened with death if she tells anyone, he makes her drive the car home. Later that night she tells her parents, and they help and support her to press charges. The perpetrator gets arrested and is prosecuted. He is convicted of rape and sentenced to jail.
He appeals the sentence. The case makes it all the way to the Italian Supreme Court. Within a matter of days the case against the driving instructor is overturned, dismissed, and the perpetrator is released. In a statement by the Chief Judge, he argued, “because the victim wore very, very tight jeans, she had to help him remove them, and by removing the jeans it was no longer rape but consensual sex.”
Enraged by the verdict, within a matter of hours the women in the Italian Parliament launched into immediate action and protested by wearing jeans to work. This call to action motivated and emboldened the California Senate and Assembly to do the same, which in turn spread to Patricia Giggans, Executive Director of Peace Over Violence, and Denim Day in LA was born. The first Denim Day in LA was in April 1999, and has continued every year since.
Denim Day is a rape prevention education campaign, where we ask community members, elected officials, businesses, and students to make a social statement with their fashion statement and wear jeans as a visible means of protest against misconceptions that surround sexual assault.