Party with Consent to return to Trinity

MAGGIE ELIAS ’17
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
This Saturday, Oct. 17, Students Encouraging Consensual Sex (SECS) and Women and Gender Resource Action Center (WGRAC) will be hosting “Party With Consent.”
Party With Consent is an interactive workshop and open forum that discusses and advocates for sexual assault awareness, prevention, and consent. Jonathan Kalin, founder of Party With Consent will host the event. There will be food, free giveaways, and games. Last spring, Kappa Sigma hosted Party With Consent and there was a significant turnout.
The importance of this event is underscored by Ahmet Bidav ’16, a member of Kappa Sigma who organized the event, who explains, “It provides an honest, and real platform for groups among campuses to have discussions that may otherwise
not be held, or not be honest.”
The event is the culmination of the tireless work of many students and staff members. Colleen Murock ’17, one of the individuals organizing the event for Saturday, wrote, “I heard about Party with Consent when a friend in the Kappa Sigma fraternity told me about an event he was going to host with his brothers last February. At the time, I was competing in the President’s Design Team Challenge for a new Trinity network. Although my team did not win, I introduced the organization in the challenge and worked with Laura Lockwood to integrate it into freshmen orientation and to continue the mission through a mid-semester event.”
Continuing, Murock explained,  “I was immediately enthusiastic and committed to bringing Party with Consent to Trinity’s campus because I believe spreading awareness about sexual assault through an engaging, interactive and informative program would unite students on campus. Furthermore, with the cooperation of Greek life and the support of Trinity staff, the program could potentially change the social culture and interaction between all students.”
In an statement about the event the Director of WGRAC, Laura Lockwood, wrote, “Those who participated in the event last spring knew immediately this would be a unique and engaging program for all students, beginning with first years,” Lockwood explained. “The Saturday night Party (with Consent) for the entire campus is an added bonus! We believe that Party With Consent workshops will build on first years’ knowledge acquired following viewing the video, Not Anymore, and the subsequent first year orientation with Speak About It. As Jonathan says, consent needs to be created. Media and societal messages often run contrary to this concept. With wit and integrity Jonathan guides students through the nuances of how this works in ‘real life.’ Jonathan helps students break it down and explore what consent means without judgment. In our goal to prevent sexual misconduct and promote enjoyable, consensual sexual encounters we hope to expand these workshops for all students in the future.”
Whitney Gulden ’16 was eager to share her enthusiasm for the event with the Tripod.
“Ana Medina and I, the co-coordinators of SECS, are very excited to be working on this unique event which is bringing together Greek Life, Barnyard, WGRAC, and other aspects of campus life to create a great night. In terms of music for the event, AJ Ballard will be playing a solo set before going on with campus favorite band, “Lolita” at 11 p.m. We are very excited to have free beer for those of age for the event thanks to the tireless efforts of WGRAC’s Abdul Staten in organizing the event. We are glad Jonathan is coming back to campus after his massive success last semester and hope that his workshops will be a positive influence on the freshmen class and Greek Life.”
For more information, contact Murock or Lockwood. The event will be held in Vernon Social from 9 p.m. to midnight.