Ozarks Technical Community College to host sexual violence awareness programs on Denim Day

Ozarks Technical Community College will host programs featuring law enforcement, medical and counseling representatives on Thursday, April 23, as a part of the international Denim Day event, designed to educate and raise awareness about rape and sexual assault.  The programs will take place at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in room 100 of the Information Commons West, at the College’s Springfield campus, 1001 E. Chestnut Expressway.  All students and employees are encouraged to wear denim in support of the day’s events.

The 11 a.m. program will feature Darrell Moore, Greene County Prosecutor, and Tricia Bremer, Adult Therapist with The Victim Center.  At 1 p.m., Alice Brashears of the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (SANE) program and Officer Maggie Krull of the Springfield Police will speak.  In addition to the programs, instructors and members of the Student Government Association will be handing out pins, bookmarks and whistles throughout the day at all of the College’s campuses and education centers.

In 1999, after an Italian High Court ruling that overturned a rape conviction because the victim was wearing tight jeans, the women of the Italian legislature protested the decision by wearing jeans to work.  As news of the verdict spread, so did the protest; the first Denim Day in the United States was established in California in April of 1999.