Ball State's Counseling and Health Services will offer various programs for Sexual Assault Awareness Week, Feb. 9-12, to increase consciousness of sexual violence. The programs are free and open to the public. They include:

• Sexual Assault Awareness Week Wall of Healing — 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 9-12, Atrium, Art and Journalism Building. Art exhibits, poetry and personal messages will be displayed.
• Healing Childhood Sexual Trauma: The Effect of Culture — 2 p.m. Feb. 9, Teachers College Building, Room 106. Understand how the effects of American culture on survivors' healing processes can be different than survivors from other cultures.
• Keynote Presentation: "Rape Does Not Define Me" — 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9, Teachers College Building, Room 101. Rachel Blalock will present a case study of a sexual assault survivor, including her experience, struggles and hope for the future.
• Achieving a Healthy Attachment to Others — 3 p.m. Feb. 10, David Letterman Communication and Media Building, Room 269. This presentation will offer suggestions for fostering healthy relationships, conflict resolution skills, personal assertiveness and self-awareness in relationships.
• Stalk U L8R — 7:30 p.m. Feb. 10, Letterman building, Room 108. An interactive and informative program focusing on how to identify stalking and potentially dangerous dating behaviors, as well as how to cope and seek counseling.
• Risk Reduction and Self-Defense: The Rape Aggression Defense System (RAD) — 10:30 a.m. Feb. 11, Letterman building, Room 261. A comprehensive self-defense system designed for female participants. It focuses on awareness and prevention, then on showing practical and realistic self-defense tactics and techniques.
• Building Bridges and Breaking Barriers — 2 p.m. Feb. 11, Teachers College Building, Room 106. This workshop will explore the elements of a forensic examination for sexual assaults, new initiatives in Delaware County and the role of victim advocacy. The presenters will include a sexual assault nurse examiner from Ball Memorial Hospital's Sexual Assault Treatment Center and a victim advocate from Ball State's Office of Victim Services.
• Black Love: Dynamics of African-American Relationships — 7-8:30 p.m. Feb. 11, Teachers College Building, Room 200A. Learn about the complexity of relationships of African-American culture, including aspects of power, control, the media, lack of role models, spirituality and communication.
• Love, Marriage and Sex — 3 p.m. Feb 12, Letterman building, Room 269. This presentation will focus on the "gray area" of sexual consent in marriage. Just what does consent mean in the context of a married couple? Is it even possible for a person to rape his or her spouse? If you have a thought or opinion about this issue, come join the debate.

For more information, visit www.bsu.edu/counselingcenter.

By Alyssa Brumback