SUPPORT CAN!

[Admin]

CAN needs your help because we lost our grant funding. It is possible that CAN will no longer exist after August 15, 2009 unless the University funds the program. Without institutionalizing at least some portion of the program, CAN will have to begin referring clients to other free or sliding scale services come May 2009.

This is where you come in. Students across UIC have come together to tell the administration about what CAN means to them. In this thread, please write your testimonials about CAN. Whether or not you are a survivor of violent crime your voice is important to us. Your posts – which can be anonymous – will be used in a portfolio to be given to Chancellor Paula Allen-Meares in January 2009 to help illustrate the vital services that Campus Advocacy Network provides to students, faculty, and staff.

If you have participated in one of our programs such as Women’s Leadership Symposium, Gender and Women’s Studies 294, freshman / transfer student orientation or received information or advocacy services please tell us!

Here are some ideas about how to start your post:

-How you found out about CAN
-What your experience with CAN was like
-How CAN has impacted your university experience or life in general
-Why the university should fund CAN

Thank you!

[LaTrease]

I worked with CAN through the Vagina Monologues, which gives women the opportunity to help others whom they may never come in contact with. I hope that CAN is able to continue on campus because I don't know many organizations that care as much as they do. At orientation, this is one of the programs that let me know UIC was somewhere that I want to attend because it cares for its students. I think it would be a big mistake to discontinue the services of CAN, they help a lot of people who wouldn't have received help otherwise. Thank you CAN, and keep up the good work.

[Guest]

During Orientation at UIC a representative from CAN spoke to us about their resources and office. And I was really glad to know there was a place on campus where people could go to if they had relationship or past issues; as a child I was mentally and sexually abused. Even as a young woman I've come across my handful of "bad characters". Though I've healed a lot from those experiences, I still remember what happened to me, and how I felt. Bad things can happen anywhere and at anytime--and sometimes the people you thought would be there for you, aren't. It was re-assuring to know that there was help for the UIC community. I really hope funds become available for this organization and that they continue to help those who need it.

[Stephen]

I first found about CAN via freshman orientation. We watched a video and had a discussion about it. Later, in my LAS 110 class, a CAN representative did a workshop about names for men and women who are sexually active and how sexism encourages a culture of violence against women. CAN means a lot to me in both my academic and personal lives. As a student, CAN has provided me with the opportunity to work in their office and help end interpersonal violence on campus through institutional advocacy and outreach and education. CAN encourages students to get involved in the UIC community and allowed me to speak to incoming freshman about CAN services, moderate student discussions, and talk with men about why it is important to care about ending violence against women. Working at CAN has helped me grow personally. Before I got involved with the organization, I did not know how to be active in ending interpersonal violence. When I decided I wanted to do something about violence on UIC's campus, CAN staff showed me how to transform my ideas into action and that culminated in the formation of Men Against Sexual Violence. I have referred friends to CAN and they have taken advantage of their services; leaving violent situations and ultimately feeling better for doing so. CAN meets survivors where they are and provides legal and medical advocacy that is unmatched by any office at UIC. Not funding CAN would be a travesty, and as a student I would be ashamed of my school if it allowed the organization to disappear.

[Joanna M]

CAN is the primary reason why I decided to attend UIC for my undergrad program. There are not many schools in Illinois that offer that type of support for their students, staff, and faculty. It is imperative that we hold to the standards that we have set by educating and promoting awareness about violence on campus. We CAN be a better university with the help and support of an organization like this one. Please do not take this away from the UIC community.

CAN was my first opportunity to shine. I became extremely involved in the work that CAN does and have benefited greatly from my experience with them. CAN has made me a better person and strongly influenced who I am today. I can only hope that the future UIC graduates will be able to have that same opportunity.

Thank you.