This week, sexual violence awareness and prevention will be highlighted both locally and nationally, with Brandeis' Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance's Sexual Violence Awareness Week running through Friday, and the pending renewal of the Violence Against Women Act by President Barack Obama. While Brandeis has sought to address gendered violence in the past, the prevalence of this issue on college campuses demands continued attention from both Brandeis students, faculty and administrators.

FMLA-sponsored events scheduled for this week include a consent and empowerment workshop, a panel on sexual violence in queer communities and the Clothesline Project, an "interactive art display" in which shirts bearing messages against sexual violence will be displayed in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium. This board commends FMLA for its much-needed work to facilitate discussion of an issue that is important for colleges nationwide.

Dating violence, sexual harassment and stalking are issues that are frequently underreported on college campuses. Regarding sexual violence, transparency is not simply an issue of reporting it; it is an issue of accurately representing its magnitude so that it can be prevented.

This board is glad to see the continued efforts of student-led groups on campus as well as the further use of University resources to promote gendered violence awareness. In addition to initiatives by groups such as FMLA, leaders of first-year Orientation alerted Orientation Leaders this past week that issues of "[s]exual education and health will be more prevalent" in the 2013 program.

With the national attention VAWA has garnered recently and its likely renewal, we feel that this is a good opportunity for the University to build upon its efforts of preventing sexual violence and protecting its victims.

Passed in the U.S. House of representatives on Thursday, the Act now has only to be approved by President Obama. Added to the original bill is the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act, an amendment to the Higher Education Act of 1965, which aims to dismantle environments on college campuses which tolerate or overlook sexual violence and harassment. "SaVE," as it has been nicknamed by advocates, would create a national standard for transparency in college reporting of sexual violence and stalking crime statistics and require colleges and universities to provide prevention and awareness programs for students and employees.

VAWA would also provide grant money for sexual violence prevention programs, including a specific allocation for colleges. Currently, a committee headed by Prof. Bernadette Brooten (NEJS) and Director of Athletics Sheryl Sousa '90 is working to draft a grant proposal for Brandeis. A town hall forum at which members of the Brandeis community can share their ideas for an awareness and prevention project will be held, as part of Sexual Violence Awareness Week, tonight at 5 p.m. (location TBD).

We hope that the University will invigorate its awareness efforts as an institution, as well as within student groups. We especially look forward to seeing the results of the VAWA grant-writing committee's efforts, and applaud them for placing Brandeis at the forefront of sexual violence prevention on college campuses.