AUBURN - Cayuga Community College students mixed fun and games with a serious cause Friday.
The IMPACT (Intelligent Minds Promote And Create Togetherness) student organization at Cayuga County Community College held a Game/Awareness Night Friday evening to support SAVAR (Sexual Assault Victims Advocate Resource).
The event provided a good time at various game stations in the lounge and a chance to learn a little about self-defense and the SAVAR program.
The event was meant to create awareness of SAVAR among middle and high school students.
“If 20 to 30 kids showed up, I'd be happy,” Kara Kinney, IMPACT's president, said. About that many had gathered halfway through the event, although it was a mix of older adults and youngsters.
“IMPACT has helped create awareness for SAVAR in the past,” Kinney said. Fundraising is secondary to informing the public about resources available, she said.
Linda Murphy, director of SAVAR, explained a new program being started called SANE, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, which helps the victim going to the hospital with less waiting time and better evidence collection.
“We're very busy. Reporting of sexual assault has happened more frequently,” she said.
Lynne Brooke of SAVAR, stressed the importance of education.
“Awareness is one way of keeping our children safe”, she said. People need to be empowered to feel safe. If kids have confidence, know safety rules and have adults to talk to, they will be less vulnerable to sexual assault.“
Besides the admission fee, strips of tickets at 25 cents each to play games with various price tags were sold. Those attending could then place the stubs in a drawing later in the evening. A 50-50 raffle was also offered. Kinney estimated that the evening might bring in about $200.
Christie Besecker, 6, of Auburn, spent her two tickets for two balls to knock over cups.
Kendra Selmon, of Syracuse, a nursing sophomore, and Michele Wright, of Queens, a liberal arts major, spent two tickets each to belt out “My Girl” at the karaoke station.
A palm-reading and Angel card shuffling “gypsy,” Terry Maddox, drew a number of curious customers. Michelle Leonello, a human service professional for Unity House, picked out an Angel card called, “Letting Go.” Maddox said she needed to open herself up to resolution and get rid of negativity.
When Maddox read the palm of a 20-year-old female student, she saw two marriages and two children. This client also paid for an angel card reading and asked for a Tarot card reading in the future.
Alex Meal, a college sophomore from Lansing, was in charge of the food center. For a ticket or two, the game players helped themselves to pizza (three tickets), fruit punch, soda, a bag of chips, popcorn, nachos and cheese (four tickets), and rice crispy treats.
Speakers from SAVAR addressed the gathering and the judo club presented a self-defense program.
Judo instructor Peter Petrosino explained the signs of respect demonstrated in the “dojo” during judo. He said the principle of judo was to steal the opponent's power through kinetic energy. Four male students and two females in the judo club demonstrated body movements to the crowd.
The judo club let kids throw them for a dollar's worth of tickets. One-hundred-ten-pound Katie Warner of Elbridge, who attends the Syracuse Academy of Science in Syracuse, learned how to throw two brown belts 250-pound Timm Burns and 225-pound Christopher Braun, judo club president.
“The judo club has always been there when people needed them,” Kinney said. “Pete Petrosino will do anything for anybody. He was shocked that we asked him.”
Professor Daniel Schultz (anthropology, history, and sociology) volunteered to be the target of a pie-throwing contest with ten tries per 25-cent ticket. When they asked him to participate, to Kinney's surprise, he said yes.
“I was asked and I'm a good sport, and its a good cause,” Schultz said.
By mid-evening, he said four or five people had tried hitting him, with one direct hit and three glancing.
Kinney, 35, a sophomore at the college, became involved with IMPACT when she petitioned to have a vegetarian menu added to the fare in the cafeteria.
“Here's the funny thing,” she said. “I'm a vegan and there was nothing I could eat for lunch. I went to the school paper with the problem.”
There were other vegetarians in the college who supported her efforts, and when she took charge of the IMPACT organization, veggies made it on the menu. There are now about 20 students active in the IMPACT club. It's mission is to promote and support respect and a better understanding of the differences in our society.
Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net
The event provided a good time at various game stations in the lounge and a chance to learn a little about self-defense and the SAVAR program.
The event was meant to create awareness of SAVAR among middle and high school students.
“If 20 to 30 kids showed up, I'd be happy,” Kara Kinney, IMPACT's president, said. About that many had gathered halfway through the event, although it was a mix of older adults and youngsters.
“IMPACT has helped create awareness for SAVAR in the past,” Kinney said. Fundraising is secondary to informing the public about resources available, she said.
Linda Murphy, director of SAVAR, explained a new program being started called SANE, Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners, which helps the victim going to the hospital with less waiting time and better evidence collection.
“We're very busy. Reporting of sexual assault has happened more frequently,” she said.
Lynne Brooke of SAVAR, stressed the importance of education.
“Awareness is one way of keeping our children safe”, she said. People need to be empowered to feel safe. If kids have confidence, know safety rules and have adults to talk to, they will be less vulnerable to sexual assault.“
Besides the admission fee, strips of tickets at 25 cents each to play games with various price tags were sold. Those attending could then place the stubs in a drawing later in the evening. A 50-50 raffle was also offered. Kinney estimated that the evening might bring in about $200.
Christie Besecker, 6, of Auburn, spent her two tickets for two balls to knock over cups.
Kendra Selmon, of Syracuse, a nursing sophomore, and Michele Wright, of Queens, a liberal arts major, spent two tickets each to belt out “My Girl” at the karaoke station.
A palm-reading and Angel card shuffling “gypsy,” Terry Maddox, drew a number of curious customers. Michelle Leonello, a human service professional for Unity House, picked out an Angel card called, “Letting Go.” Maddox said she needed to open herself up to resolution and get rid of negativity.
When Maddox read the palm of a 20-year-old female student, she saw two marriages and two children. This client also paid for an angel card reading and asked for a Tarot card reading in the future.
Alex Meal, a college sophomore from Lansing, was in charge of the food center. For a ticket or two, the game players helped themselves to pizza (three tickets), fruit punch, soda, a bag of chips, popcorn, nachos and cheese (four tickets), and rice crispy treats.
Speakers from SAVAR addressed the gathering and the judo club presented a self-defense program.
Judo instructor Peter Petrosino explained the signs of respect demonstrated in the “dojo” during judo. He said the principle of judo was to steal the opponent's power through kinetic energy. Four male students and two females in the judo club demonstrated body movements to the crowd.
The judo club let kids throw them for a dollar's worth of tickets. One-hundred-ten-pound Katie Warner of Elbridge, who attends the Syracuse Academy of Science in Syracuse, learned how to throw two brown belts 250-pound Timm Burns and 225-pound Christopher Braun, judo club president.
“The judo club has always been there when people needed them,” Kinney said. “Pete Petrosino will do anything for anybody. He was shocked that we asked him.”
Professor Daniel Schultz (anthropology, history, and sociology) volunteered to be the target of a pie-throwing contest with ten tries per 25-cent ticket. When they asked him to participate, to Kinney's surprise, he said yes.
“I was asked and I'm a good sport, and its a good cause,” Schultz said.
By mid-evening, he said four or five people had tried hitting him, with one direct hit and three glancing.
Kinney, 35, a sophomore at the college, became involved with IMPACT when she petitioned to have a vegetarian menu added to the fare in the cafeteria.
“Here's the funny thing,” she said. “I'm a vegan and there was nothing I could eat for lunch. I went to the school paper with the problem.”
There were other vegetarians in the college who supported her efforts, and when she took charge of the IMPACT organization, veggies made it on the menu. There are now about 20 students active in the IMPACT club. It's mission is to promote and support respect and a better understanding of the differences in our society.
Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net
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