UTSA provides sexual assault and domestic violence awareness resources

OCTOBER 7, 2024 -Editor's note: The following message was sent today via email from UTSA President Taylor Eighmy, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Heather Shipley, Chief Enterprise Development Officer and Executive Vice President for Business Affairs Veronica Salazar, Dean of Students and Senior Vice Provost for Student Affairs LT Robinson and Chief of Police Stephanie Schoenborn to all faculty, staff and students.

Over the weekend, a deeply concerning incident occurred at University Oaks, managed by Campus Living Villages. UTSA's Police Department issued a notice regarding a sexual assault. As the investigation continues and we work to support the survivor, we are reaching out to our entire campus community to reaffirm our commitment to a zero-tolerance environment for sexual assault. If you need support or want to learn more about how to support others, we encourage you to explore the free resources available to you.

Support

UTSA has important mental health and well-being services available for students, faculty and staff.

Safety Resources

UTSA Public Safety provides important community services and resources aimed at keeping our campuses safe.

• The LiveSafe app connects students, faculty and staff instantly with the UTSA Police Department (UTSAPD) and other online safety resources right from your phone.
• UTSA Public Safety offers on-demand campus safety escorts by UTSAPD officers and security guards 24 hours a day, seven days a week on the Main and Downtown campuses.

Learning Opportunities

Each October, as part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Wellbeing Services and The PEACE Center host various events and learning opportunities regarding consent, sexual violence prevention, bystander intervention and healthy relationships. We encourage you to visit our calendar of events to take advantage of these programs to expand your personal toolkit.

Take Back the Night

All Roadrunners are encouraged to join us for Take Back the Night at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, October 22, in the Student Union Paseo for an evening of empowerment for those individuals who have been affected by domestic and dating violence. The event includes a resource fair, poetry, activities, Silent Witness, a march around campus and a speak out.

Report

UTSA has multiple options for Roadrunners wishing to report acts of sexual violence or misconduct. A PEACE Campus Advocate can help you consider your reporting options. These include:

Get Involved

Understanding bystander intervention is an important step in combatting sexual violence. Green Dot is a nationally recognized anti-violence initiative aimed at decreasing and preventing the occurrence of power-based personal violence. Join us virtually at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, October 16, for a 90-minute, interactive session to learn more.

Additionally, we are proud to be counted as an institution dedicated to the complex work of combating sexual violence and are grateful for grant support from the Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women.

As an important reminder, faculty and staff are required to report any disclosure of sexual violence to the Title IX coordinator. Therefore, it is important for faculty and staff to tell students about the obligation to reportprior to hearing a disclosure. We encourage you to review the resources available on the Equal Opportunity Services website and familiarize yourself with referral options on the Safe Campus website.

The safety and well-being of our community is our top priority. We are deeply grateful for the dedication of our entire university to this critical work to keep all Roadrunners safe.

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