By Marrissa Ballard | Staff Writer
The Hunting Ground, a documentary about sexual assault on college campuses, will be shown in Bazarsky on Tuesday, April 28th at 6:00 p.m.
Salve Regina is pairing up with newportFILM and Day One, Rhode Island’s trauma resource center, to bring the documentary to Newport. The event is free and open to students, faculty, and the general Newport community.
The evening will start with a showing of the film, and then a panel will take place at 8:30 p.m. The panel will feature four people, including Malcolm Smith, the Dean of Students at Salve, a moderator, and representatives from Day One and newportFILM.
The Hunting Ground is a new documentary that covers the highly controversial issue of sexual assault on college campuses. The film covers how this issue is addressed at universities, and how this problem is an epidemic among U.S. colleges. The film includes interviews from survivors, activists, and faculty from universities.
The documentary does come with several trigger warnings. There are some descriptions of sexual assault, which come from the survivors in the film. The film is rated PG-13, so the descriptions never get too graphic or explicit.
If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, the film may trigger anxiety, panic, flashbacks, or fear. There will be quiet rooms available at the event if guests need to step out. The University also hopes to provide counselors outside of the event as well.
Because the film was only released to limited theatres, college campuses have been encouraged to have showings themselves. Other Rhode Island campuses, such as Rhode Island College and Brown University, will also show the film.
Dean Smith and the university staff as a whole believe that the documentary should be shown on Salve’s campus. “It’s just a matter of recognizing the importance of engaging in this conversation, and raising awareness not only for our students but for the broader community,” Dean Smith stated. “We think it’s the right thing to do.”
Click here to watch a trailer for the film.
