Students unsafe from sexual attack

By Kenesha Hylton
Special to the Daily Forty-Niner

Sexual assault can happen to anyone.

This was the message at the sexual assault discussion sponsored by the Cal State Long Beach residence halls, on Tuesday evening in the Los Cerritos lobby.

Lynne Coenen, the assistance director for the Women's Resource Center, lead the dialogue along with Pamela Jesse, the resource coordinator of conference services.

Protecting oneself from sexual assault involves "setting boundaries before you go any place," Coenen said. This involves knowing what one will and will not do in almost every situation, she said.

For a majority of the freshmen moving into the residence halls this is their first taste of freedom, she said.

Blaire Chapman, a resident and a campus senator said: "Few of them think of terrible things such as sexual assault happening to them, so the majority of them take little or no precautions."

[Students] live in the residence halls, leaving their doors wide open, their valuables unguarded and invite strangers into their world without a second thought of what might happen."

Jesse said that students need to be physically and mentally aware of themselves and their surroundings.

When going out, students should know who their driver is and where their destination is, she said. They should also go in pairs when using the bathroom or traveling anywhere. While this seems like common sense, many people don't take the initiative.

Coenen said: "We should all be each others caretakers, be a sister and brother to each other."

Some precautions Coenen gave students to help prevent sexual assault from occurring included:

To be aware of one's surroundings and knowing who one is with; Being cautious; being assertive and standing up for oneself by saying "no" firmly; having a plan of action; and trusting one's gut instinct, because if it feels bad, it probably is.

"Remember you have the right to be safe," she said.