According to Centers Against Abuse & Sexual Assault (CAASA), one in four girls will be impacted by sexual abuse by their 18th birthday. Sexual assault is a form of contact or behavior without consent of the victim.   

Every year, students enrolled in the Gender and Women’s Studies class, taught by professor Dean of Communications & Arts, Dr. Annamaria Elsden, works with CAASA to perform days, weeks, or a whole month worth of events to raise awareness in the community every year in the month of April.  

This year’s event is a ‘Hippie Hustle 5K,’ a walk or run for sexual assault awareness. It will be held on Sunday, April 29, at 1 p.m. at Siebens Fieldhouse at Buena Vista University. All proceeds earned will go to CAASA.  

Junior human performance major, Bailie Meissner, a student a part of the class is particularly excited for this upcoming event.  

“I am so excited to just spread awareness,” says Meissner. “With my recent service trip dealing with sex trafficking we saw that every single case with that had sexual assault and domestic violence so to raise awareness for the people who are going through it and have gone through it is super crucial to help these individuals. Also, all proceeds go to CAASA which is super awesome as well.”

All community members and students are welcome to be a part of the event. Student registration is $5 with donation. Community members early registration is $15 and day of registration is $25.   

Other events included are a t-shirt with your registration, water stations throughout the run, food and paper product drive, tye-dye station, a survivor speaker, and assorted prizes to the top three male and female finishers. These events will continue throughout the day of the run.   

If you have any questions regarding the event, please contact Dr. Annamaria Elsden at [email protected] or CAASA at 712-732-8120 or https://www.caasaonline.org/.