No On My Campus

The Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity set up thousands of plastic Solo cups in Smith Plaza on Monday October 26th to start a conversation about sexual assault on college campuses. The Solo cups represented students at UNM that could experience sexual violence in their lifetime. While the plastic Solo cups are commonly associated with alcohol consumption by college students, ATO and LoboRESPECT wanted to send a stronger message to students. 90 percent of college rapes occur when alcohol is involved. A total of 4,129 cups were placed on the ground in Smith Plaza. There were 3,760 red cups to represent the 1 in 4 female Lobos that risk being affected by sexual violence in their lifetime. The remaining 369 blue plastic cups represent the 1 in 33 male students who will experience some form of sexual assault. Through this project, Alpha Tau Omega wanted to bring awareness to LoboRESPECT, an advocacy center on campus that provides a safe and welcoming environment for students to receive support and advocacy services for a number of areas. The group raises awareness about epidemics students face, one of the biggest being sexual assault. Alpha Tau Omega saw the need as men to stand up against sexual violence and send a big message that we need to stop the silence and make a change about sexual violence on our campus. “The conversation about sexual assault needs to happen. It’s on us as students to stop it. The only way to stop it is to talk about it. It’s time for us to protect the pack.” – Brother Kyle Stepp and LoboRESPECT Student Director That day over 1,000 UNM students took the stand with ATO and pledged “Not On My Campus” to end sexual assault on our campus. Join the movement. Stop the silence. And make a change.