Please join us this month to learn how to support survivors, build healthy relationships, and create a culture of care and action at UIC and beyond! GO.UIC.EDU/SAAM

Dreaming Up a Violence-Free Campus
Monday, April 6

CupShup: Baat Pakki. Now What?!
Wednesday, April 8

Fetishized: Book Talk with Kaila Yu
Thursday, April 9

On the Rocks
Tuesday, April 14

Sex Ed After Dark: Sex Toy Bingo & Trivia (details coming soon!)
Tuesday, April 21

Queer Stories: I Used to Be Funny (details coming soon!)
Tuesday, April 28

[ID: A list of events in white text on a teal gradient background. At the top is a teal awareness ribbon with the UIC circle logo and "Sexual Assault Awareness Month" on top of it in white. Behind this are images from various event posters.]

Wednesday, April 8 - TODAY!
1-2:30pm | WLRC, 1700 Student Services Building
Audience: UIC Students

Join us for a workshop on building healthy, intentional relationships! Through games and fun activities, we'll explore consent, boundaries, and communication within romantic, friend, and family relationships.

While the conversation will center on South Asian/South Asian American experiences, the event is open to people of all cultures, identities, and gender identities and expressions.

[ID: At the bottom are three couples of various gender identities in various South Asian wedding outfits, with a grassy field beneath them. At the top is a yellow, orange, and pink flower garland. In the center is "CupShup: Baat Pakki. Now What?!" in pink letters and details about the event (same info on this page) and another couple.]

Wednesday, April 8 - TODAY!
3:30-5:30pm | WLRC & Zoom
Audience: UIC Faculty, Postdoctoral Scholars, Staff

Join a panel of senior women faculty at UIC to hear their perspectives on what new faculty need to navigate an academic career successfully during these times, and how mentoring relationships and practices can help.

Featured speakers:

[ID: Five women UIC faculty members, shown from the chest up, on a purple background. At the top is "Making Mentoring Matter in These Times." At the bottom are details about the event.]

Thursday, April 9
5:30-7pm | 1-470 Daley Library & Zoom
Audience: Everyone (open to the public)

Join us for a special event with debut author Kaila Yu as she discusses her book, Fetishized: A Reckoning with Yellow Fever, Feminism, and Beauty.

[ID: The cover of Fetishized, which features a black and white photo of author Kaila Yu from the chest up, looking at the camera. Below that are two sets of hands holding open books. To the right of the images are details about the book talk event.]

Tuesday, April 14
3:30-6:30pm | Student Recreation Facility
Audience: UIC Students, Staff, Faculty

Gather for a night of mocktails, music, and climbing while building community and supporting women at UIC! All skill levels are welcome. Gear is provided. Come climb, relax, and enjoy time together in a welcoming space.

[ID: Three people climbing up ice cubes and a lemon wedge in a tall drink glass with a straw inside it. Behind the glass are silhouettes of people's faces. Above and below are details about the On the Rocks event.]

Saturday, April 25
11am - 2pm | Children's Center Playground
Audience: UIC Students & their families

We’re excited to celebrate you! Join us for a relaxed, family-friendly gathering honoring UIC parenting students—especially our 2025–2026 graduates. Come enjoy community, recognition, and family fun!

[ID: A parent and children at a snack table at a large festival. Above and around them are details about the Graduation Celebration for UIC Parenting Students in colorful text.]

Saturday, April 11
2-4pm | Latino Cultural Center
Audience: Everyone (open to the public)

We invite gardeners, organizations, and community members interested in learning more about gardening, environmental sustainability, and social justice. Anyone can come to share knowledge, stories, and resources with others, and make new friends from around the city. 

[ID: A yellow flower and an open suitcase that has been transformed into a seed library, surrounded by info about the Heritage Garden Spring Seed Swap.]

Meet Nate Chang Sawyer, CCUSC Community Mental Health Intern!

As the Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change (CCUSC) community mental health intern, Nate offers different kinds of 1:1 student support including but not limited to:

- mental health/therapeutic support
- connections to resources and mutual aid, and
- advocacy support while navigating institutional barriers and academic ableism.

As a Taiwanese-American graduate student with lived experience of mental illness and psychiatric disability, Nate’s work is centered on collaborating with fellow students to imagine and build structures of collective care inside the university.

There are no costs or session caps. Meetings can be scheduled via email (nsawy@uic.edu) for both in-person and remote. Nate’s office is in 4080 BSB.

[ID: Info about services provided by CCUSC Community Mental Health Intern Nate Chang Sawyer.]

As the academic year progresses and many of you and your families are being impacted by the actions of ICE and their abductions, WLRC and the Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change (CCUSC) want to underline our ongoing support to you all. Remember that there are multiple pillars on campus to help you stay resolute in completing your studies.

As you continue to fight the good fight, know that you are not alone in the urgency you are feeling. Our space is open to study, gather in community, and check in with

staff. We are here to support your academic success through the end of the semester and beyond. We will continue to find courage in our solidarity and community, fight injustice, and build spaces of love and care.

Additional Campus Resources:

[ID: "Persevering through the Semester and Beyond: A message of support for our students" surrounded by monarch butterflies and school supplies, all on a purple background.]

Survivors, we are here for you!

Please reach out to the Campus Advocacy Network any time you need support, information, resources, answers, and/or advocacy related to safety, healing, or gender-based violence (sexual assault, domestic/dating violence, stalking, harassment, family abuse).

Our services are free, confidential, and open to all members of the UIC community.

To connect with an advocate:

We can help you

We're also here for allies! Please reach out to us if you are in a role where you may need to support survivors on campus (instructors, mentors, advisors, student leaders, friends, or colleagues) or have questions about resources, mandated reporting, and more. 

[ID: A grey t-shirt with "Someone you love is a survivor" painted on it in red and white. Red and black hearts are scattered around the words.]

If you are a student leader, instructor, or supervisor, please consider inviting CAN to speak to your class through our Don’t Cancel Your Class! program, or request a training for your department, college, student organization, or other campus unit. 

[ID: Three students participating in a dating timeline activity on a tabletop.]

Faculty, please include info about us in your curriculum and syllabus:

"If you have experienced sexual assault, domestic/dating violence, stalking, or harassment, there is help available. The Campus Advocacy Network provides free and confidential services to UIC students, faculty, and staff who have experienced or are experiencing interpersonal violence. 

Pregnant and parenting students are also welcome to contact CAN for resources, information, and support.

If you would like to speak with an advocate, please email CAN at can-appointment@uic.edu, call (312) 413-8206 and leave a voicemail message, text (312) 488-9784, or fill out CAN's Ask An Advocate form online at can.uic.edu/ask. To learn more, visit CAN's website at can.uic.edu."

[ID: A CAN team member standing next to a presentation screen and facilitating a discussion on how to respond to a disclosure of gender-based violence.]

UIC Disability Cultural Center: Community Care Cohort Internship
Apply by April 10
Learn about care work and experiment with co-creating and leading a care project within a supportive environment. 

Chicago City Council Latino Caucus Foundation: Annual Scholarship
Apply by April 10
Provides $5,000 to undergraduate students who are at least one-half Hispanic/Latino and residents of Chicago.

Cook County Health: Provident Scholarship
Apply by April 19
The Health Professionals Scholarship provides up to $20,000 to medical students and students in graduate-level clinical and behavioral health academic programs. The Allied Health Scholarship provides up to $10,000 to individuals pursuing allied health careers such as nursing, behavioral health, and students in select certification programs.

UIC Institute for Policy and Civic Engagement: Urban Public Policy Fellowship
Apply by May 3
Provides seminars covering public policy-making, advocacy, community development, and service provision. Open to undergraduate students from all academic areas.

UIC United Faculty: Apply for the Student Fast Fund
Provides grants of up to $500 to students in emergency financial situations. 

UIC Black Studies: Grace Holt Celebration: Black Creative Resistance
April 7-15
Each year, we uphold Grace Holt's commitment to Black Studies and celebrate our community through a keynote presentation, series of community and scholarly events, and recognition of students.

UIC Library: Poetry Talk with Kay Ulanday Barrett
Wednesday, April 8 | 2-3pm, 231 BSB & Zoom
Join us for an afternoon of poetry and conversation with Kay Ulanday Barrett, poet, performer, and educator, navigating life as a disabled Filipinx-amerikan transgender queer in the U.S. with struggle, resistance, and laughter. 

Chicago Abortion Fund: Pilsen Fund-A-Thon Community Gathering & Teach-In
Saturday, April 11 | 12-2pm, Pilsen Community Books
Whether you are new, a seasoned fundraiser, or interested in getting more involved, this is an opportunity to connect with the CAF community, hear updates about the abortion access landscape, and leave with some swag!

Chicago Abortion Fund: A Home Here: Post-Abortion Community Circle
Tuesday, April 14 | 7:30-9pm, Virtual
Each month, we collectively check in, engage in mindfulness/meditation practices, and participate in a facilitated discussion to share our experiences (or just listen!) as we build connection and widen abortion narratives.

UIC Police: Stronger Together: Domestic Violence Resource Fair
Wednesday, April 15 | 12-2pm, Student Center West
Learn more about local shelters, legal assistance, counseling services, hotlines, orders of protection, and other safety and support resources. WLRC's Campus Advocacy Network will have a table there--please stop by!

UIC Social Justice Initiative: Massacre River: The Woman Without a Country
Wednesday, April 15 | 6pm, Chicago Justice Gallery
Join us for a special documentary screening about race, statelessness, and the Dominican-Haitian borderlands. A discussion with Dr. Lorgia García Peña, Dr. Manoucheka Celeste, Dr. Natalie Bennett, and curator Lola Ayisha Ogbara follows.

Survivors.org: Trauma-informed Yoga Workshop
Tuesdays beginning April 21 | 6pm, Virtual
Offers survivors a free, virtual yoga practice that is gentle, grounding, and meets them where they're at.

UIC Counseling Center: Parenting Student Support Group
Thursdays | 12-1pm, Hybrid
Come as you are to connect, share experiences, and receive support from your peers. This support group is open to any UIC student who is a parent or caregiver in any way.

UIC Law Pro Bono Litigation Clinic: Free Name & Gender Marker Changes
Students assist transgender individuals with changing their names and identification documents, prepare necessary court documents, and appear in court on behalf of individuals at hearings. Includes court and document fees.

UIC Library: Upcoming Events
Check out events from the Undergraduate Engagement Program and other departments within the university library!

CAASE: Upcoming Events
The Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE) addresses the culture, institutions, and individuals that perpetrate, profit from, or support sexual exploitation through prevention, policy reform, community engagement, and legal service.

Resilience: Upcoming Events
Resilience works to end rape culture and empower sexual assault survivors through advocacy, education, and healing.

Check out what's happening at all our sibling centers this week!

Founded as a direct result of campus activism, the UIC Centers for Cultural Understanding and Social Change (CCUSC) work collectively to produce knowledge and shift university culture, validating the multidimensional lived experiences of historically and currently excluded communities.

Informed by social justice frameworks, the Centers support students, faculty, and staff as they build a strong identity and sense of belonging, becoming change agents for a more just campus and society.

The Centers connect our communities and design intercultural and engaged-learning opportunities, student mentorship programs, cultural programming, advocacy, collaborative research, and community partnerships.

Through these efforts, the Centers expand the educational and transformational mission of UIC.

In light of actual and potential threats to our communities, both here at UIC and throughout the Chicago area, it's important to know what our rights are when interacting with immigration and other federal law enforcement officers.

WHAT TO DO

UIC's administration has shared official protocols for such interactions on campus.

If you need assistance or suspect ICE presence anywhere in IL, please call the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) Hotline: 1-855-435-7693.

[ID: Details about ICIRR's Family Support Network Hotline: 855-435-7693.]

CAMPUS RESOURCES

UPCOMING TRAININGS & EVENTS

We are here for you and will continue to share resources and information with our campus community.

UIC Women’s Leadership and Resource Center
& Campus Advocacy Network

1700 Student Services Building (MC 363)
1200 W. Harrison St., Chicago, IL 60607

(312) 413-1025 ∙ wlrc@uic.edu ∙ wlrc.uic.edu

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