VARP helps define Girl Code
On Thursday, the Violence Awareness & Response Program (VARP) team organized the event “Girl Code: Party Protocols” at the Women’s Center. The host of the event, Mai Ker Thao, talked about how to correctly define protocols between friends to avoid the unpleasant consequences of attending a college party.
Thao’s main goal was to make students define the “Girl Code” for themselves. She believes that this term might be understood differently by each person depending on their experience.
“[I want] students to talk about what they think goes inside the broad term of girl code,” Thao said. “Students may associate it with friends or only girls. One believes that Girl Code is mutual respect, and the other believes that about looking out for each other. Everyone has their terms and their own experience.”
To understand what Girl Code means for the party, students came up with the name “Britney” for an imaginary friend that goes to a party. Thao explained how Britney’s friend should behave in different situations at the party and afterward.
“A lot more people think that the girl code is that adults should be adults. If something happens to you, that’s on you because they’re not responsible for your actions. Sometimes that can lead to victim blaming,” said Thao. “People may say ‘Britney was all over Brett. So she must have wanted something.’ But it doesn’t work like this. It’s not her fault that Brett was confused with her short skirt or makeup.”
VARP hosts many events related to violence and sexual assault. They educate students and help them figure out how to deal with various situations. Thao believes that this is very important for college students.
“Girl code party protocol is important because we educate and bring awareness to things that you might not even realize are something that you didn’t understand clearly,” Thao said. “We just want to be sure that if go and drink at the party, they know how to be safe, they know how to take care of themselves and they know how to take care of their friends. And if something unfortunate does happen they know the resources or if a friend experiences sexual assault, they know the tips on how to approach it.”
A student who visited the event shared their feedback on the event.
“I decided to come to learn more about the girl code and all the different things that affect growth in university. And it was very useful! A lot more than I expected,” the student said.
VARP is ready to help students with their personal questions at the Women’s Center on the second floor of CSU. They provide a variety of services that might be useful in different circumstances, including help with the police report.
“If you want to go to the police, that is something that we can help you with. If you want there to be someone you know while making a report at the police station, we will find ways to have someone there to be with you,” said Thao.
Header photo: The Women’s Center is a resource for students who may have questions about circumstances regarding party situations. (Dominic Bothe/The Reporter)
Write to Amalia Sharaf at amal.sharafkhodjaeva@mnsu.edu