In an effort to spark dialogue about sexual violence in the LGBTQ community, two Ball State organizations will be facilitating a simulated talk show.
The Sexual Threat Oppression Prevention team has joined Spectrum to present their “Talk Show” event, on issues surrounding sexual violence. The Talk Show will be held at 8 p.m. today in L.A. Pittenger Student Center 301.
The event is set up as a conversation about a fake event that has taken place concerning sexual violence. In the show, both the survivor and alleged perpetrator characters will interact with an expert and a host, each supported by a “friend” character.
“We establish with [the] audience [that] this is a role-play and introduce ourselves in real life and also what role we play,” STOP facilitator and victim advocate Allison Wynbissinger said. “Individuals share their stories and their perspective and we open that up to audience for questions. At the end, everyone steps out of their role and we debrief and discuss how that experience was.
Wynbissinger said STOP’s goal is to start the conversation and make people aware of the resources on campus to help victims.
“Sexual violence in general isn’t talked about a whole lot and we raise awareness and get dialogue going that it happens and the nature of it,” she said. “We’re trying to provide education about the topic and debunk things society throws out that people buy into.”
Spectrum treasurer Jamie Goebel said Spectrum has collaborated with the Counseling Center in the past, but this will be a new kind of event for the student organization.
Goebel said students that have attended “Talk Show” events in the past forget they are role-playing.
“They rehearse and do it well,” Goebel said. “A lot of students think it’s real until they break it down and have the discussion about it. That’s a good thing because it impacts them more,” he said.
Wynbissinger said these events provoke emotion and sometimes strongly affect members of the audience.
“This can trigger some emotions, some memories, it can cause responses from people who have been victims or are survivors,” Wynbissinger said. “We have counselors in audience to provide support and talk with.”
