September is Katy Benoit Safety Awareness Month at University of Idaho.
Katy Benoit was a psychology graduate student at the UI in 2011. Her life would tragically come to an end when the UI professor that she was having a relationship with murdered her on her front porch of her Moscow home. Since this tragedy, the UI has been vigilant in assuring students can feel safe on campus.
Multiple campus entities have partnered together and are holding safety-oriented events throughout campus for the month of September. There are 14 events in total, spanning over the entire month of September and the first week of October. All these events are safety-oriented and free to attend.
On Sept. 13, Take Back the Night will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. This year’s Take Back the Night will feature a keynote address at the Ag Sci auditorium, a rally and a march around campus. Take Back the Night is an event that spreads awareness of interpersonal violence on campus and those affected by it.
On Sept. 16 and 17, “Every Brilliant Thing” will be showing at the Hartung Theater. “Every Brilliant Thing” is a play that discusses issues such as suicide, depression and appreciation of life. It will star Craig A. Miller from the UI theater department.
On Sept. 19, there will be a Campus Safety Forum Keynote Address, featuring Jennifer Landurs from the Stalking Prevention, Awareness, Resource Center. The address begins at 7 p.m. in the international ballroom.
On Sept. 21, 25 and 29 there will be three separate self-defense workshops and training sessions. The first session is Personal Safety/Vigilance Education training. This will be a presentation given at the Vandal Ballroom at 6 p.m. on Sept 21. The second session will be Responding to Disclosures of Interpersonal violence. This will be a 90-minute online presentation that will focus on handling disclosures to interpersonal violence. The third session will be a SASS GO Self Defense Training program. This will be a self-defense training session that begins at 2 p.m. on Friday Sept 29. Registration is required for attendance.
The UI takes its student’s safety very seriously. That is why the University has so many resources to turn to for students in need. If you feel that you or a friend is in danger, feel free to contact Campus security services. They offer campus SAFEWALKS, campus information and emergency jumpstarts for student’s vehicles. The campus security team is available 24/7 including holidays and break.
Ben DeWitt can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @BenDeWitt321