The MSU Sexual Assault Crisis Intervention Team, or SACI, and others are jumping for support against rape for Operation Free Fall: The Two-Mile High Stand Against Sexual Assault fundraiser.
Turning tragedy into power, Kellie Greene, the founder of Speaking Out About Rape Inc., or SOAR, went skydiving on the anniversary of her rape, said Elizabeth Battiste, a communication junior and president of SACI at MSU.
“Every year at the end of April, hundreds of people across the nation and across the globe go skydiving together to raise funds and awareness for different sexual assault organizations,” she said.
“Last year, we had 22 jumpers with MSU, and our goal is to have even more this year.”
Currently, 20 jumpers are registered for the April 30 fundraiser, and last year MSU students broke the record for having the largest number of jumpers since the fundraiser’s start in 2001, Battiste said. Jumpers will make the plunge at Premier Skydiving in Fremont, Mich., at a site 50 miles northwest of Grand Rapids.
Each jumper is required to raise at least $650 in pledges, and 35 percent of the proceeds go back to MSU’s sexual assault program, said Ali Sanchez, a social work freshman who plans to skydive in the event.
“Skydiving is kind of a symbolic way (and) effort to end rape and other forms of sexual assault,” she said. “It’s scary. No one wants to think about rape, let alone talk about it.”
Although rape is a sensitive topic to discuss, it still needs to be addressed, said Dennis Martell, an education service coordinator for Olin Health Center.
“It seems more and more, sexual violence is being tolerated by our society and that really needs to end,” he said. “The conversation about how to end sexual violence may start with a free fall in the air, but it needs to continue and get serious on the ground.”
Rape is a highly underreported crime, with 60 percent to 70 percent of incidents are never reported, Sanchez said.
“I know some survivors of sexual assault and I am one myself,” she said. “Are we going to continue to let this happen to the people we love? No.”
In an effort to break the taboos surrounding rape, skydiving is a powerful way to get attention, Battiste said.
“It was a really empowering experience,” she said. “(I) really enjoyed having a way to speak out about such a sensitive issue in kind of a way that brought a lot of people together.”
Sanchez agrees — increasing awareness and encouraging people to speak up and speak out about rape is a huge step to eliminating it, she said.
For more information, visit operationfreefall.com. __
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