Student Health hosts awareness events


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Front face of building.
Events will include Trans-ffirmation, a wellness program that encourages participants to explore their emotions through art. The art will go toward care packages for Casa de Zulma, a trans-femme shelter and resource center. (Emma Silverstein | Daily Trojan)

Student Health will host event programming for Transgender Day of Visibility March 30 and 31 and sexual assault awareness events throughout the month of April, Chief Student Health Officer Dr. Sarah Van Orman said in a briefing with the Daily Trojan Tuesday.

Events centered around transgender awareness include documentary screenings and a panel Q&A hosted in conjunction with the TransLatin@ Coalition March 30. The event is co-sponsored by Keck Pride and the GEMS Center for Gender Equity in Medicine & Science. On March 31, Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention, a Student Health organization, will host Trans-ffirmation: Supporting Gender-Expansive Survivors, a wellness art program that aims to encourage participants to explore mindfulness and their emotions through art. Participants will create art that goes towards care packages for Casa de Zulma, Los Angeles’ first ever trans-femme specific shelter and resource center.

“This is a great opportunity for people to … get support,” Van Orman said. “I really encourage …  allies to take a moment to use this as an opportunity to reflect, learn, grow and participate in awareness building activities … so that they can be better allies.”

Van Orman also noted that experiencing discrimination or lack of inclusivity based on gender has a profound impact on the health of individuals.

“When we want to raise the health of our entire community, days like this are really important so that members of our [transgender] community can feel heard,” Van Orman said.

April will also mark the kickoff of Student Health’s sexual assault awareness month programming. Beginning with a launch event at the Trojan Farmers Market April 5, events such as resource fairs and a trauma informed care workshop hosted at Health Sciences Campus will strive to build awareness among the USC community.

“Unfortunately, we know that many students are not aware of our services [or] the availability of 24/7 advocates,” Van Orman said. “We also really want to use this opportunity to highlight resources that are available on campus.”

These resources include advocates available through the RSVP program that are available 24/7 by calling Student Health’s direct number.

Advocates can provide a range of support, Van Orman said, from simply providing a safe space for survivors to accompanying them to report sexual assault to law enforcement or seek forensic examinations at a sexual assault response center. Advocates are also available if students need to bring a sexual assault case to court or report an incident to USC’s Office for Equity, Equal Opportunity, and Title IX.

“The services of the advocates, really importantly, are completely confidential,” Van Orman said, stressing this as a distinction from campus faculty who are obligated to report instances of sexual assault.

Coronavirus cases totaled 76 last week, a slight uptick post-spring break, but nothing dramatic, Van Orman said. Student Health has seen cases of normal colds, but cases have not been dominated by either the coronavirus or influenza.

“We are working as a University in terms of transitioning [now that] the state of emergency is ending in L.A. County on March 31st,” Van Orman said. Student Health will continue to work with the University to scale back coronavirus-related policies as campus looks to return to a pre-pandemic normal.