A 6-foot-tall Bucky Badger, strapped in with a climbing rope, scaled a giant climbing wall on the north side of Library Mall Thursday. Although the obelisk structure caught the eye of many passersby, the goal was raising awareness to a subject much less visible than a 30-foot high knobby wall: sexual assault.
“Get Up, Climb Up,” sponsored by University Health Services, took place Thursday afternoon with “celebrity” climbers including Dean of Students Luoluo Hong, District Attorney Brian Blanchard, Jolanda Ganza from the Dean of Students Office, and a police officer. Students and staff participated in the climb, from which proceeds went to the Dean of Students’ Crisis Loan Fund. Some non-climbers showing their support for assault victims and survivors were Mayor Dave Cieslewicz and student Ald. Austin King, District 8.
Mayor Cieslewicz also touched on civic responsibility, in particular, which raised the question of drink specials. Cieslewicz said even though drink specials are a popular issue to discuss, the city has to thoroughly consider any issue that increases the chances of sexual assault.
Although Cieslewicz didn’t climb, he noted his satisfaction with the student support and with raising awareness of sexual crimes.
“This is a good event to draw attention to sexual assault,” Cieslewicz said. “I’m happy to participate and to see so many showed up to raise awareness.”
“The reason we’re here,” King said, “is to show our support for survivors and raise awareness of sexual assault. Our responsibility (as policymakers) must be to incorporate these issues in city policy. That includes our decisions on alcohol, even city lighting and transportation.”
King said Madison policymakers must provide an environment that is less conducive to sexual assault. One recent controversial policy King mentioned was the banning of drink specials. King said banning drink specials forces students to go to unregulated house parties instead of regulated bars.
“In that case, we’re not doing our part,” King said.
Dean Hong was also excited to see the turnout of Thursday’s activities.
“It’s really great to see this kind of mix of students and staff,” Hong said. She added that she thought this was a very creative way to cover this issue.
She said the university offers other outlets of support, including preventative measures like scheduling talks at residence halls for staff and faculty, UHS services and student programs like PAVE and Men Making a Difference, which held a simultaneous event on the opposite end of Library Mall.
UHS relationship violence prevention coordinator Lori Henn proclaimed the climbing event to be a success.
“There was climbing all day,” Henn said. “We could’ve done better (in raising donations), but I’m happy with what’s happening.”
