For ASU student Jessica Tartaro, it was the "Dave's Doghouse Signature Buns Competition" that fired up support for a quiet cause.
The competition, held on campus in fall 2003, awarded women for shapely backsides and, in Tartaro's opinion, contributed to an unsafe campus climate.
Instead of defacing the hot dog hut with ketchup, Tartaro decided to talk to Associated Students of ASU and garner support to build an anti-violence center on campus.
Tartaro is a participant in V-Day, a 50-member campus club dedicated to ending violence against women and girls.
The club is working to establish a 24-hour anti-violence safe house on campus for male and female victims of sexual assault.
ASU V-day has dubbed the anti-violence center "Home Safe." In addition to staying open 24 hours to help victims of sexual assault, it would also offer educational presentations, self-defense classes and a resource library.
For survivors of sexual assault, Tartaro said the options on campus are not "visible, centralized or comprehensive.
"A survivor needs a variety of resources, like legal advocacy, and medical and mental health assistance," Tartaro said.
The 2002 National College Health Assessment reports that one in 20 female students and one in 100 male students experience some form of sexual assault every year at ASU. On a campus of 50,000, that equals 2,500 females and 500 males who are sexually assaulted per year.
Connie Engel, a justice studies doctorate student and V-Day member, said more residence halls are planned for ASU, which will only increase the incidents.
Tartaro said the club seeks the support of ASU administration to build and fund the center, which she hopes will be completed within the next two years. She also said the project probably would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, but it would be worth it.
"We're putting a lot of money for more treadmills, and adding restaurants to the mall exploding in the middle of campus, and we have no women's center," she said.
V-Day also promotes the play "The Vagina Monologues," and will be performing for the sixth time in March. Normally, the proceeds go to a Phoenix charity, but this year, the money will be used to help start the center.
The Undergraduate Student Senate considered a bill Tuesday to support the cause, and the Graduate Professional and Student Assembly is scheduled to discuss it in a Friday meeting.
The USG also is considering a petition to ASU athletic facilities to start accepting Sun Dollars at sporting events and a resolution to condemn the change of "quiet hours" to 9 p.m. in residence halls.
USG is also considering a petition to ASU administration to send out a letter about construction to students planning to live in residence halls Palo Verde West, PV Main and PV East in fall 2004.
Reach the reporter at lindsay.butler@asu.edu.
