California Home Girls

April, Lauren and Sabrina showing off the new One Student posters.

We got to spend some time with our No Woman Left Behind home girls this weekend. They inspire, amaze and dazzle us beyond measure. Honestly, we could not love these women more if our life depended on it!

We accomplished a lot during our west coast One Student/ No Woman Left Behind weekend retreat. The No Woman Left Behind Bystander Intervention Training Program is almost complete and we put the final touches on the No Woman Left Behind campus program (see description below).

No Woman Left Behind
Whether it’s your friend, sister or a complete stranger, step in and make a difference.

No Woman Left Behind is a bystander intervention program created by women for women and the men who care about them. In this empowering program, April, Lauren and Sabrina share their personal and life changing story to offer a powerful message about values, sisterhood and responsibility. The No Woman Left Behind program challenges students to raise their standards, become role models and contribute to a unified campus community.

On an average night at a seemingly typical college party, three members of the De Anza College women’s soccer team intervened when they believed a young woman was being sexually assaulted by members of a college athletic team. By following their intuition and doing what these friends refer to as “the right thing to do”, they saved a woman’s life. Their actions inspired a local campus to start the No Woman Left Behind Campaign which is now a national movement that is helping students enact change on campuses throughout the country. No Woman Left Behind was established to educate communities about sexual assault and to create a culture that does not wait for someone else to take action.

Meet the young women who inspired the No Woman Left Behind movement that is helping students enact change on campuses throughout the country. Hear their extraordinary story and personal journey, and learn how you can be an active bystander.

For information about brining this fabulous trio to your campus send us an email at info@onestudent.org.

Happy Friendiversary!

According to a friend of ours on facebook, this week is National Best Friends Week. While my internet fact checking came up with a different time of year to celebrate we decided to buck the system and get the party started early. Renegades? Maybe. Or just two best friends who have stood by one another for the past 21 years and always open to a reason to bust out some cake.

Just yesterday the topic of our friendship was the basis of an interview with a fabulous peer educator from Northwestern. She interviewed us for an article she’s writing (appearing soon on the OneStudent.org community wall). Her slant and insight are well beyond her years. Her focus was on the role we can all play as members of a survivor’s support system and she wanted our point of view on how we can all be better friends while respecting the disclosure process. We talked a lot about what an honor it is anytime someone trusts us enough to share that they have been sexually assaulted—a privilege Kelly nor I ever take lightly. I think it is important to remember that our friend is likely not disclosing to us because they expect us to have all the answers, but because they believe we will listen, that we will believe them and we will help them seek out support and resources. There is no one size fits all response, but showing up and keeping the focus on the survivor is a good place to start. It is ok not to know everything. It took us years to be this brilliant- kidding! We are all works in progress and knowing we can help to set a positive tone for someone’s recovery process is a beautiful gift. If someone discloses to you- you have earned their trust and should feel honored. If you want a more matter of fact list of suggestions to refer to if a friend discloses to you, here is the link to our resource on “How to Help a Friend”.