Last Thursday night, students “oohed” and “aahed” in front of the tater tot bar at DU After Dark’s ice skating event, “Keeping It Cool and Consensual.” The Sodexo-donated bowls of bacon bits, gooey cheese, green onions and of course, crunchy tots provided a fun and yummy environment for the night’s important message: ending the taboo around discussing the issue of sexual assault. 

Around 50 people dropped into the event, which started at 9:15 p.m., to show off their skating skills in Magness Arena and demonstrate their support for the importance of consent. Put on by the Health and Counseling Center in partnership with DU After Dark, which hosts substance-free late night activities throughout the school year, “Keeping It Cool and Consensual” was designed as a fun alternative to parties and a way to get the conversation started about the emphasis on consent. They even provided a soothing activity of making sachets out of funky animal-printed socks, rice and essential oils such as grapefruit and lavender, as a way to keep the message of the event resonating long                                                         after Thursday night. 

Not only was the evening sponsored by Insomnia Cookies and Sweet Action Ice Cream, but Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) played a huge part in making the night happen as well. Senior Matthew Meyer of Zeta Beta Tau spent the evening skating around to freshmen and other students, educating them about the importance of consent and the issue of sexual assault on college campuses. He and Carson Lance, the associate director of FSL, have been working hard in past years to get fraternity chapters to do something about gender-based violence. They especially wanted to plan an event during the “red zone,” the first six weeks of college during which new students are most susceptible to sexual assault, to demonstrate the FSL community “coming together to show engagement and effort to work towards prevention.”

While they initially hoped the fraternities could host their own event, the timing and convenience of DU After Dark’s shindig fit perfectly with their goals. As a result, they reached out to various chapters of both fraternities and sororities, asking for three to five members to volunteer and help spread the word about bystander awareness. Emma, one of Delta Zeta’s delegates, mentioned that her sorority “has CAPE representatives who are educated and trained to know how to handle victims of sexual assault,” should the issue present itself. They also recently created another program, called Protect Your Shell, which combats other important concerns such as mental health and illness.

The Collegiate Counsel on Gender Violence Topics intends on hosting more events during Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October and Sexual Assault Awareness Month in April. Until then, students can read up on the many pamphlets and resources provided Thursday night by the Health and Counseling Center, and freshmen can expect to sign up for Intervene DU, the university’s required active bystander training.

While not as many freshmen showed up as Matt and the turquoise-clad volunteers wearing “I Heart Consent” t-shirts had hoped, they were just glad people could “come together to help fight this issue.”