The EmPOWER Center, a 7C resource for support and advocacy, held an event on April 19 in recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Dozens of community members gathered outside the center to write encouraging affirmations over a Chipotle-catered lunch.
Organized by student interns and supported by consortium partners, the event served as a symbolic and tangible reminder that survivors are not alone and that the 7C community stands with them.
“We wanted to provide more support for survivors and really get the community involved,” Ava Hinz SC ’25, a Scripps Advocate, said. “We want to provide more encouragement and love, and help people feel more supported wherever they’re at in their process. These events are important reminders that these occurrences happen regularly, and we need to check in with each other and support one another.”
Director of the EmPOWER Center Rima Shah said the event’s purpose was to raise awareness about sexual assault and to support survivors.
“We invited the 7C community to join us to stand in solidarity with survivors of sexual assault by creating chalk messages of support, healing and community on the sidewalk outside the EmPOWER Center,” Shah wrote in an email to TSL. “Our goal was to raise awareness about this topic and support survivors. Their story matters, and we are here for them.”
Shah credited student interns Macy Puckett SC ’28 and Sally Ruth Gaskell SC ’27 for their leadership in organizing the event.
Shah said she and Puckett began planning for a lunchtime event, envisioning something simple yet powerful. After reaching out to the EmPOWER’s consortium partners, she said they were excited by the enthusiasm and interest in collaboration that they received.
Gaskell said she hoped the event helped create a positive atmosphere for survivors.
“We hope the chalk stays for a few days leading up to the center,” Gaskell said. “It can be really daunting to ask for help. These messages can give people the courage to reach out.”
For Belén Padilla SC ’25, co-president of Scripps Advocates and a survivor herself, the event hit close to home.
“I wrote, ‘Love surrounds you.’ That’s what this is about — building a campus culture that’s survivor-friendly,” Padilla said. “People think at a liberal arts college, this isn’t a big issue, but it very much is. This lets survivors know they’re supported, even by people they may not know.”
The event also caught the attention of students from Claremont’s graduate institutions. Izzy Reilly, a third-year occupational therapy (OT) student at Keck Graduate Institute, attended as part of her doctoral capstone project on sexual violence within the OT field. She said she wanted to raise awareness and show support.
“The affirmations are powerful,” Reilly said. “People know there are investigations and Title IX, but it’s also important to highlight confidential resources and supportive communities.”
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