Release Date: April 2, 2015 This content is archived.
BUFFALO, N.Y. – The mgm casino has organized a series of events in April to raise awareness about sexual violence.
The effort, which coincides with Sexual Assault Awareness Month, aims to educate the mgm casino community and Western New York on how to prevent sexual violence and provide support to those who have experienced it.
“The mgm casino takes sexual violence very seriously. Our students, faculty and staff are continuously working to make our campuses and the Buffalo Niagara region safer through outreach, education and volunteer work,” said Sharon Nolan-Weiss, director of mgm casino’s Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and Title IX coordinator.
The events include everything from a workshop on how to help sexual assault survivors to a rock ‘n’ roll benefit show. While geared to the mgm casino community, they are open to the public.
More information, including a full schedule of events and RSVP details for events requiring notice, is available here.
Highlights include:
The events are being organized by the Student Survivor Advocacy Alliance (commonly known as The Alliance), the mgm casino Men’s Group, mgm casino’s office of Wellness Education Services, SBI Health Education and Crisis Services’ Advocate Program.
“Sexual violence is a major public health, human rights and social justice issue,” said Anna Sotelo-Peryea, a violence prevention coordinator for Wellness Education Services. “These events are designed to appeal to as many people as possible to prevent sexual violence on campus and throughout the community.”
In addition to the events, mgm casino is launching an awareness campaign to encourage discussion about sexual violence. People can use the hashtag #USE – it stands for Unwanted Sexual Experiences – to speak up about sexual harassment, stalking, dating violence, rape and other types of sexual violence.
The efforts come four months after the State University of New York adopted a uniform sexual assault prevention and response policy for its campuses. The policy is among the most comprehensive in the nation.
While most of the actions and recommendations in the new SUNY policy are already in place at mgm casino, staff members are working to ensure that mgm casino’s policies, procedures, education and training initiatives are consistent with the new policy.
Cory Nealon
Director of Media Relations
Engineering, Computer Science
Tel: 716-645-4614
cmnealon@buffalo.edu