Every Monday at 9 p.m. the members of Eyes Wide Open (EWO) meet in the Kirkhof Center to discuss how they can better educate Grand Valley State University students about sexual assault. The trained members of the group give presentations to classes around campus and advocate for a safer campus.

In a study released on Monday by the Association of American Universities, 27.2 percent of female college seniors and 8.6 percent of male college seniors reported being sexually assaulted at one point since they began college. EWO hopes to help students at GVSU create a safe environment where sexual assault does not happen.

“Eyes Wide Open is a peer education and activism group,” said Aly Phillips, vice president of EWO. “We do a lot of presentations to classes to advocate for a safe campus.”

Each member must be trained before they go to present in front of classes.

“We go around to classes and other places and do presentations,” said Ian LaPoint, EWO secretary. “With presentations, only trained members can do them.”

Their meetings include talking about current events in the news about sexual assault, which can be anything that the members saw or heard about that they would like to discuss. They discuss difficult topics and warn that some things can be a trigger for people who have experienced sexual assault. If at any point during the meetings someone feels uncomfortable or upset, they are allowed to leave and the risk management leader, Annie Livingston, will follow them out to make sure they are okay.

Although they are not a support group, the leaders are happy to find support for those in need of it.

“We aren’t a support group,” Livingston said. “But, we can put you in contact with people if you need more of a support group or more of someone to talk to about a specific experience.”

When talking about a sensitive subject such as sexual assault, the group does have house rules that they ask everyone to abide by when addressing the group or speaking to someone.

“Use respectful boundaries when we’re communicating with each other and other people in presentations,” Livingston said. “Also be considerate in you communication.

“There is also an open door policy with the core team. We would love to talk to you so if you have something you want to address with one of us, whether it’s something serious or if it’s questions, comments or concerns, we are more than happy to talk to anybody.”

In addition to speaking and presenting in classes, EWO members also raise awareness to their cause and their group. One large project they do is the Clothesline Project.

“Every year we get people to write or paint on these shirts,” Brianna Aldrink said. “You could be a victim writing your story and letting out those emotions, or a friend of a survivor or just someone who wants to write an encouraging message, you’ll do that on T-shirts.”

Aldrink is one of the leaders of the Clothesline project. The T-shirts are then hung up around different places on campus. They hope to put them in Kirkhof, the library, the Rec Center and the Pew and Holland campuses. Aldrink said this is a great way to “raise awareness in a really unique way.” The clotheslines project goes from Oct. 5-16.

EWO also hosts other events throughout the year, including Rock Against Rape and Take Back the Night.