KELLY & BECCA ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP WITH DELTA GAMMA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 25, 2010
Contact: Nicole Porter
Director of Communications
614-481-8169
nicole@deltagamma.org



Delta Gamma’s New Partnership Spreads the Word About Sexual Assault Awareness

Columbus, Ohio -- Delta Gamma Fraternity has partnered with an innovative speaking duo, Kelly Addington and Becca Tieder, (kellyandbecca.com) who are experts on sexual assault awareness, prevention and sexual empowerment. Kelly and Becca are nationally recognized for their achievements in sexual assault education and prevention. This partnership encourages opportunities to expose more collegiate and community audiences to the message.

Since 2003, Kelly and Becca have shared their message with hundreds of campuses, communities and national professional conferences reaching more than half a million people. In 2006, they founded Unite for Change, (uniteforchange.com) a global campaign to promote sexual assault awareness and prevention, sexual health and healthy sexuality. In 2009, they launched the popular educational tool Sexversations® and in 2010 they were honored to announce The No Woman Left Behind Campaign as their latest educational initiative.

According to Fraternity President Beth Searcy, "A key component of Delta Gamma's strategic plan is to cultivate partnerships to advance the mission of Delta Gamma. Kelly and Becca's program helps us create opportunities to have critical conversations about sexuality, alcohol, healing and hope. Sexual assault is a serious issue in our culture, particularly on our campuses, so Delta Gamma is proud to unite with Kelly and Becca in their vital message of empowerment."

In partnership with Delta Gamma Fraternity, Kelly and Becca aim to link individuals together to help build communities that are part of the solution to end sexual violence. Unlike any other program on the topic of sexual violence, Kelly and Becca use humor to inform and inspire. Using their signature three-step model, they teach participants how they can help reduce sexual violence. Armed with their personal experience, expertise and unique ability to relate to each member of the audience, their programs treat men and women as allies while focusing on the importance of communication, bystander intervention, personal responsibility and supporting survivors. With sexual empowerment as their platform they decode the toxic language surrounding sex and offer innovative ways to address alcohol, sex under the influence and date rape drugs. Always upbeat, their emphasis is on acknowledging that students are not the problem but the solution.

Founded in 1873, Delta Gamma is an international fraternity, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, consisting of more than 200,000 members. A leader among Greek organizations, Delta Gamma is dedicated to promoting educational and cultural interests and creating a true sense of social responsibility. Through the nationally recognized philanthropy, Service for Sight; award winning publication, The ANCHORA of Delta Gamma; and lauded risk management programming, Delta Gamma is committed to instilling the best qualities of character. For more information, please visit www.deltagamma.org.

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WSU student arrested for break-ins

WSU student arrested for sorority break-ins

The Daily Evergreen (Washington State University)

Reports September 17, 2007

Pullman Police said they have one suspect in custody after a woman woke up to two men sexually assaulting her early Thursday morning. WSU student Kyle M. Schott, 23, was arrested early this afternoon. He is facing one count of first degree rape, one count of burglary in the first degree, two counts of residential burglary and one count of attempted burglary, according to a Pullman Police news release. Police are actively pursuing leads to identify two other suspects in the string of burglaries Thursday morning. A woman in her early 20s was asleep in the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority on Monroe Street at about 4:30 a.m. when two men reportedly entered the house and began assaulting her. Pullman Police Cmdr. Chris Tennant said it was sexual assault but didn’t involve intercourse, and the men fled when the woman woke up.

Tennant said the woman was not a Kappa Alpha Theta member, and was sleeping in a individual room while sorority members slept on sleeping porches. The men are also suspects in break-ins at Delta Gamma and Pi Beta Phi sororities at about the same time frame.

There was no sign of forced entry at Kappa Alpha Theta, and Tennant said he thought they may have used the fire escape to enter. It appears to be a random attack, he said.
Police Sgt. Sam Sorem said Thursday evening that residents near Delta Gamma and Pi Beta Phi on Lynden Street gave descriptions of the two men who reportedly broke into the houses. “We’ve had some very commendable citizen involvement from people who live in that area,” Sorem said.

Alpha Gamma Rho President Ryan Lantz and fraternity member Branden Rainer saw the two suspects Wednesday evening, Lantz said. When they heard about the assault the next day, they were frustrated that they hadn't done anything. Rainer thought he recognized one of the suspects as a friend of a friend, so they began investigating on their own, Lantz said. They talked to owners of The Coug and Valhalla and determined the suspect was from the area. Using Facebook, Lantz and Rainer were able to find a picture of Schott who they recognized from Wednesday night. They turned over their information to the police.
"It's something we feel pretty good about," Lantz said.

The first call to the police about the assault came in at 4:48 a.m., initially reported as an attempted rape. The woman was taken to Pullman Regional Hospital. Police collected DNA evidence from the scene, Sorem said.

The second suspect is described as around six feet tall with a muscular build and short blond hair, according to a Pullman Police news release. He is said to have a tattoo of a solid triangle on the back of his neck and an ammunition belt around his right thigh. Police believe there may also have been a third subject involved, who stood guard outside the houses.

As a result of the break-ins, the Greek community is focusing more on safety. Anita Cory, the director of the Center for Fraternity and Sorority Life, sent an e-mail to leaders of Greek houses on Thursday encouraging members to contact the police if there are any suspicious intruders or issues. She also warned that if any organization has participated in “pranks” that involve break-ins, the police will pursue the activity as a real crime.

“No matter the believed situation, we expect and encourage you to contact the Pullman Police Department with any suspicious intruders, issues, etc.,” Cory wrote. “If there is a pattern, the PPD will be best able to identify it quickly and allow you to keep your members and your facility safe.” Cory did not respond to a message left on her office phone Thursday afternoon.
Sorority presidents will meet next Wednesday to discuss safety at their houses, a result of the early morning break-ins, Panhellenic spokeswoman Britni Freiboth said.
“Hopefully what they’re going to do is just use each other’s ideas and make each other safer,” she said.

Sororities and fraternities are among the safest places to live in Pullman, Freiboth said.
Fraternities will also meet sometime soon to see how they could help sororities be safer on the hill, Interfraternity Council spokesman Taylor Worth said. “We will meet to see how the boys can help out,” he said. But immediately, Tennant said residents should take a few minutes to make sure they are secure in their homes. Also, if things look suspicious, do not be afraid to contact the police.

“We encourage people to call in suspicious people and suspicious activity,” he said. “A lot of time people don’t call in stuff because they think we’re busy and we don’t care ... but honestly that’s how we solve a lot of crimes.”

Northern Michigan University- Rocks Unite for Change!

So smack dab in the middle of the Unite for Change campaign we visit Northern Michigan University. We suspected it was going to be an awesome experience and we were right on. First off the student organizer was this awesome girl, Brit. She was professional, funny and motivated. Our kinda gal. So it was no surprise to us when she revealed she was also our sorority sister (sorry for the obvious bias).

However once we arrived on campus we knew Brit was a classic example of their entire Panhellenic Council. Who are actively working to stomp out sexual violence. The council even printed their own t-shirts which they sold as a fundraiser (pictured above). This is a great example of creating your own solutions to enact a cultural change in our communities.

You go girls!

Thank you all for being a part of the campaign and the Mission.

Always-

Becca and Kelly