I can still remember the first time I had ever heard of rape. I was in middle school, and as my teacher was going through her lesson on Mesopotamia, I was playing a game in my head (inspired by a game I had seen on a kid’s menu at a restaurant). I was trying to figure out if I could scramble the letters of one word to create other words.

Throughout the lecture, I was scribbling down words, trying to move letters around when all of the sudden I thought of the word “grape”. And what a dream word it was! I could take every letter away and make new words: ape, pea, are, rap, peg. “What about rape?” I thought to myself. "Is that a word?" The bell rang and my game was over, but I was still pondering this question as I got in the car on the way home from school. 

I asked my friend’s mom, my ride home that day, if “rape” was a word and her face immediately turned red, I could see fear radiating from her eyes. She asked me where I had heard the word and to never use it again. It was a “bad word.” 

She then turned back around, put the car in drive and we all pretended my question was never spoken. That was it. The end of the conversation, and of my impression of rape until years later, in high school, when I was told the proper definition. 

Although this may seem like an insignificant story of a girl who missed a history lesson, it is actually a really significant story about a girl who missed a life lesson. It serves as an example of the world that we live in and our attitude toward sexual assault. It is there and it happens—just like the word “rape” is hidden inside the word “grape”—but no one picks it out, no one talks about it.

I am, and always have been, a “do-er.” I want to change the world and that is why this memory makes me cringe for the mom who missed the opportunity to educate, to acknowledge and to talk about this problem. Because it is a problem. 

But I am grateful that I now have the opportunity to be a part of the effort to find a solution.

I was originally introduced to NO MORE when a representative from the Joyful Heart Foundation came to one of my classes at Northeastern University as a guest speaker. In addition to speaking about the Joyful Heart Foundation, he showed us the video reel for the NO MORE PSA campaign. I had tears in my eyes. I knew I had to be a part of this. 

On New Years Eve Day, my sister, Jamie, best friend, Gillian, and I went into the city of Boston with a whiteboard that said “NO MORE” on it. We met new people all over the city, told them about the campaign and educated them on the issue. We then had them complete the sentence “NO MORE…” we gave them a white board marker and all the time that they needed to fill in the blank. We then took their picture and told them to look into the campaign and the Joyful Heart Foundation. After a day of new friends, learning experiences and nineteen degree weather, the three of us went back to my house and filmed the parts of the PSA that were not pictures of people we met on the street. My sister then edited it together and it is now on YouTube:

The process of making the PSA was so rewarding. Ever since its creation, I have felt like I am a part of the conversation, but I knew I did not want my involvement to stop there. I am the Vice President of Active Minds, the mental health awareness and well-being student organization, at Northeastern University. When I told the members about this PSA they were all so enthusiastic to continue the spread of knowledge and awareness, not only on our campus, but also to the city of Boston. 

Inspired and enthused, student organizations from college campuses from all over Boston will be putting together a sexual assault awareness festival called  I See, I Speak, I Pledge on Sunday, April 6. Prior to the event, we will be advertising and raising awareness around Boston. 

The I See, I Speak, I Pledge event is our way of raising awareness about this issue and starting conversations, rather than shutting them down. The day of the event we have reserved a large quad on the Northeastern University campus across from the Northeastern T stop and busy street (to my Bostonians, I’m talking about Huntington Ave). We will also be taking over large lecture halls for speakers, a panel and presentations. In addition to the speakers, we will be holding a self-defense class on the quad, as well as hosting a presentation from the Boston Police Department. The rest of the area will have booths of local organizations and resource centers, as well as student group sponsors—student clubs, sororities and fraternities—who want to show their support. 

Upon arrival there will be a “Take the Pledge” booth where students can sign a pledge to raise their voice. These pledges and the people who sign them will be the basis of our second PSA for the NO MORE movement.

 We will also have a sponsor board for photos, trivia, a wheel to spin for swag, plenty of free food and ice cream. 

Our goal for this event is to simply get people to talk. We want to start a conversation, educate and advertise the resources and support that are available. We want to have the conversation with everyone: from bystanders to survivors to activists. We want people to raise their own voice and find their own passion for this issue. We want to inspire people to start thinking about the way they can do their part in stopping this problem, even if it is simply interrupting a rape joke or listening to a friend.

Because together we can end sexual assault.