Gaels Raise Awareness Against Sexual Violence with “Teal Out” Games
Saint Mary’s Athletics and Student Life partner with SMC students to focus the community on an important issue facing college campuses across the country.
Teal isn’t part of the official color palette when it comes to Saint Mary’s swag, but thanks to a student-led drive to raise awareness around an important topic, the color helped deliver a powerful message during a recent Gaels Basketball doubleheader at UCU Pavilion.
Before and during Saint Mary’s women’s basketball game against Pepperdine, as well as the men’s basketball game against Portland later that day, Gael students partnered with SMC Athletics and Student Life to host a “Teal Out” to raise awareness around the topic of sexual violence on college campuses.
Students, staff, players, coaches, and fans all had an opportunity to show their support in a variety of ways. In the UCU Pavilion lobby, students were able to pick up a teal T-shirt while all fans had the chance to stop by the information table and speak with SMC students to learn more about the topic as well as resources offered at Saint Mary’s.
Saint Mary’s coaches and players wore teal pins throughout the day, the Saint Mary’s band and spirit teams wore teal shirts, and slides sharing background, resources, and key messages of support ran on the video board during both games.
Spearheaded by Students
The effort was spearheaded by a group of students who have come together to spread awareness around the issue over the last year.
Senior Lauren Kearney is one of those students. She spent the day at the information table, helping to facilitate conversations and spread education on a topic that can at times be tough to talk about no matter the point of view.
“The group came up with the idea last spring during the month of April, which is Sexual Assault Awareness Month,” Kearney says. She is on the women’s cross country and track team, which hosted its own teal day last spring. “This separate group was kind of talking about what can we do to get more student involvement, and what’s better for student involvement than a basketball game?”
Kearney credits fellow student Norah Bessette-Denwood with asking, “‘What if we did a “teal out” similar to a breast cancer awareness “pink out”?’ We kind of took her idea and ran with it.”
Megan Gallagher also spent the day helping to spread the word to the Saint Mary’s community about the resources that are available to all students, faculty, and staff. Gallagher is the Director of the Campus Assault Response and Education (CARE) Center on campus, which means she and her team work to provide support and education for the SMC community on a daily basis.
Located in Augustine Hall, the CARE Center provides critical assistance for those who might be affected by sexual violence as well as providing education outreach around gender and power-based personal violence.
“It’s a reminder of resources and a reminder to be a good bystander. (It’s a reminder of) the role other students play as a bystander, whether it’s going hey, there is that office, or there is that support when someone is impacted by these issues,” Gallagher says. “That helps to shift the culture. Someone may not need these resources now, but this plants a seed of what can be done when or if the time arises to support a friend, a classmate, or a community member."
Clad in a teal shirt himself, Saint Mary’s President Richard Plumb attended both games, spending time talking with and listening to students and fans who share a commitment to raising awareness around this critical issue. The College continues to work to bolster and enhance resources related to sexual assault prevention and response.
"I believe that everyone on our campus understands the concerns our students have raised about these issues and knows that their personal experiences are real, genuine, and valid," says Plumb. "The Teal Games were an excellent demonstration of our campus community coming together with one voice to acknowledge the gravity of the issues while expressing our collective determination to eliminate sexual harassment and assault at Saint Mary's. I applaud the Teal initiative for drawing attention to the issues, which is a necessary step in stamping out all forms of these incidents. I look forward to similar events moving forward."
Standing Together
What did the effort look like to those on the court?
“I think it’s hard to talk about, but I think people need to have those conversations,” says Taycee Wedin, a senior on the women’s basketball team. When it comes to being an ally for those who have experienced sexual violence, Wedin says, “It’s really important that we’re showing our support, again if they want to talk about it. If not, then everyone is there for them. I think we definitely need to do more of that on campus as well.”
Even the visitors recognized how important the day was.
Coaches and staff on the Portland men’s basketball team joined in to help spread the word, donning teal pins for the night to show their support.
Saint Mary’s men’s basketball players wore pins on their warm-up shirts as well, and the swath of teal that occupied a student section usually dominated by red, white, and blue stood out as the Gaels rolled to a win over the Pilots.
“It goes both ways,” says freshman center Harry Wessels. Students and fans bring energy and spark to the games. “It’s only right that when they put something forth that they care about, we jump on board and support that.”
The effort to continue raising awareness isn’t confined to a day on the basketball calendar. In April, the CARE Center and students will team up to host their annual “Take Back the Night” event in support of sexual assault survivors. More information on the event will be available on the Saint Mary’s website in the coming weeks.
Learn more about resources available to the Saint Mary’s community for preventing and addressing sexual violence by visiting the CARE Center website.