| Time + Location | Track | Presenter | Title | Abstract |
| 9:10 - 10 AM Chumash Left | Restorative Practices | Jatzibe Sandoval - Lumina Alliance | Going Beyond the Victim Offender Binary | This session introduces a transformative justice approach to the power-based violence movement, highlighting the reality that everyone has the potential to both cause and experience harm. The first part features a lecture based on direct experience working with incarcerated survivors who have also caused harm. It emphasizes the importance of recognizing that hurt people hurt people, without excusing violence, and advocates for access to healing resources as a fundamental human right. This approach challenges conventional beliefs about who is deserving of forgiveness and healing. Attendees will gain insight into the consequences of rigid ideologies that gatekeep healing spaces and hinder the rehabilitation of survivors. |
| 9:10 - 10 AM Chumash | Reproductive Justice | Kara Samaniego, MBA - Communications Department | Challenging Conversations Through a Reproductive Justice Lens | At a time where conversations around bodily autonomy are divisive and polarizing, the need to shift to a reproductive justice framework has never been greater. How we meaningfully engage in critical conversations around violence prevention, abortion, parenting and more can change the trajectory of our relationships and communities. This session will review the basics of reproductive justice, why the focus on access to care is essential, and participants will leave with tangible strategies of how to engage in these challenging conversations. |
| 9:10 - 10 am Chumash Right | Restorative Practices | Dr. Maya Hislop - English Department | The Prison Abolition Movement & the Anti-Rape Movement | According to the Equal Justice Initiative, a non-profit committed to ending mass incarceration, in 1972 there were 200,000 people incarcerated in the United States. Today there are over 2 million people incarcerated. How did this number grow so exponentially in only 50 years? Most might assume that the crime rate must have increased and therefore the incarceration rate also increased. However, this is not true. The crime rate has never been lower than it is right now, yet the U.S. is the leading incarcerator in the world. If you think this is a problem, this may be the track for you. In this interactive track, we will work together to build a better understanding of the prison abolition movement as well as transformative/restorative justice movements. How do we reconcile the principles of prison abolition with anti-rape movements? In many ways, these movements are incompatible, but there are also crucial ways that they must be in conversation in order for true justice and liberation for all to prevail. (171) |
| 10:10 - 11 am Chumash Left | Restorative Practices | Jatzibe Sandoval - Lumina Alliance | Going Beyond the Victim Offender Binary | The second part of the session features a guided art workshop, modeled after those used in the local prison and juvenile detention center as tools for healing. Participants will be given a prompt to explore and encouraged to express their emotions through a creative medium of their choice. |
| 10:10 - 11 am Chumash | Student Research | Aya Trussell - Public Health | Decolonizing Global Health: Violence Against Women in the APIDA Community | This presentation, Decolonizing Global Health: Violence Against Women in the APIDA Community, explores the intersection of public health and violence against women within Asian Pacific Islander Desi American (APIDA) communities, using a decolonial framework. The presentation will examine how historical and structural factors, such as colonization, immigration, and cultural erasure, shape experiences of gender-based violence. By addressing Western-centric public health models, we will explore alternative, community-driven responses that center the voices of APIDA women. The goal of this session is to foster a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by APIDA communities and to challenge prevailing narratives that often erase or misinterpret their experiences. The session will incorporate an interactive activity in which participants will have the option to contribute to a collaborative action wall. |
| 10:10 - 11 am Chumash | Student Research | Marisol Morales - Interdisciplinary Studies | Assessing the Need for GPBV Prevention in Cal Poly's Student Diversity and Belonging | The study’s purpose is to present a campus-wide needs assessment conducted to show whether Cal Poly’s Student Diversity and Belonging (SDAB) centers should incorporate gender- and power-based violence (GPBV) prevention programming. With Safer’s confidential advocacy and prevention education programming, this project can engage students from historically marginalized through surveys and interviews. Participants include, student population, student assistants, and professional staff. Based on the findings it can demonstrate a need for culturally responsive prevention education tailored to the lived experiences of students in these communities. From the findings there will be an analysis of the participants' survey responses and will gauge to see which programming topics will be increased. The findings will allow for the development of new programming that demonstrates consent across cultures. |
| 10:10 - 11 am Chumash Right | Collective Care for those with Marginalized Identities | Dr. Paloma Moran - CAPS | Queer Survivors and Collective Care: Bridging Mental and Physical Health for Holistic Healing | This presentation examines the intersectionality of gender- and power-based violence (GPBV) and the LGBTQIA2S+ community through a trauma-informed, collective care lens. Queer and trans survivors often face compounded barriers in both mental and physical healthcare due to provider bias, limited LGBTQIA2S+ competency, and systemic discrimination. We will explore the ways intersecting identities—such as race, gender, and class—shape survivor experiences and access to care. The session will highlight community-driven strategies, peer-led crisis response, and integrated models of mental and physical health that center survivor agency and promote healing. Participants will leave with actionable tools to support LGBTQIA2S+ survivors and foster more inclusive, affirming environments in professional and community spaces. |
| 11:10 - 1 pm Chumash Left | Survivor Wellness | Cheri Love, LMFT - CAPS | Art and Healing-A SoulCollage Workshop for Survivors |
This one-time SoulCollage® workshop offers a supportive and creative space for survivors of gender-based violence to explore healing through art and self-reflection. Using images and intuition, we’ll create personal collage cards that connect us to our inner wisdom and strength. No art experience is needed—just a willingness to show up as you are. Together, we’ll honor each person’s journey with compassion and care. *Must stay the entire session. Please RSVP by 04/28 https://forms.office.com/r/Cy7EALwSqB |
| 11:10 - 12 pm Chumash | Fraternity & Sorority Life | Leah Tanner - Psychology | Changing Culture with Primary Prevention: FSL Tri-Council Dialogues | This session will review the pilot year of Safer's new quarterly FSL Tri-Council Dialogues. As of 2022, Cal Poly had the highest rates of reported sexual violence in the CSU system, with some of the highest rates of reporting coming from members of Fraternity & Sorority Life (FSL). During the summer of 2023, two Frost Student Researchers with the Sexual and Reproductive Health Lab researched and curated community-specific learning objectives for the first ever tiered, comprehensive sexual violence prevention curriculum for all FSL students. The vision of these FSL Tri-Council Dialogues is a campus free from sexual violence, and an increase in positive attitudes related to sexual health and violence prevention. With generous contributions from ASI Student Government and President Armstrong, Safer has expanded prevention programming for all 4,000+ FSL students during their 4-year tenure at Cal Poly to include this curriculum developed by students, for students, with guidance from Safer’s Violence Prevention Specialist. |
| 11:10 - 12 pm Chumash | Fraternity & Sorority Life | Ithzel Castañeda, Psychology | Power, Harm & Healing in Multicultural Greek Life | When discussing gender- and power-based violence, dominant educational frameworks frequently overlook or misrepresent the lived experiences of communities of color. These approaches often center white, middle-class norms and fail to reflect the complex realities of BIPOC individuals. As a result, conversations around harm and prevention can perpetuate stigma or invisibilize the needs of those who tend to be most impacted. Bringing in culturally informed, trauma-aware education offers a more inclusive and effective alternative. By incorporating race, identity, historical context, and community values, it creates space for authentic dialogue, promotes accountability, and avoids causing further harm to the very communities it seeks to support. This presentation explores how sexual assault and intimate partner violence uniquely impact multicultural Greek life, specifically within United Sorority and Fraternity Council (USFC) organizations. By highlighting current organizations standing in solidarity, and learning to break harmful cycles it offers a transformative vision for how USFC communities can foster safer, more accountable spaces. |
| 11:10 - 12 pm Chumash Right | Survivor Wellness | Jennifer MacMartin, MPH - Craft Center | Creative Resistance: Art as Healing and Justice | This presentation explores the role of art as a tool for healing, connection, and social change. From traditional crafts rooted in cultural identity to contemporary community-based art, creative expression offers pathways for individual and collective transformation. We examine how art intersects with social justice movements, amplifying marginalized voices and fostering resistance, resilience, and empowerment. The presentation also highlights the therapeutic benefits of art-making, drawing from art therapy and trauma-informed practices that promote emotional processing and well-being. In centering craft as both personal expression and political practice, this workshop offers an opportunity for participants to consider the role of creativity in their own lives. |
| 12:10 - 1 pm Chumash | Student Research | Addison Bounds - Business Administration | What’s In Your Drink? Uncovering Drink Spiking & Empowering Safety Through Innovation | Drink spiking is far more common—and closer to home—than many realize. This presentation pulls back the curtain on who is being targeted, where these incidents most often occur, and the subtle symptoms that often go unnoticed. By grounding our talk in real-world data and stories, we aim to raise awareness around a threat that disproportionately affects women and young people in social settings. We’ll also introduce Aurela, a women-founded company creating discreet, wearable technology that helps detect drink tampering in real time. Our mission is not only to protect but to empower—ensuring that safety doesn't come at the cost of confidence, style, or social freedom. Join us as we explore the realities of drink spiking and the innovative ways we can protect each other while reclaiming joy and agency in nightlife, festivals, and everyday social spaces. |
| 12:10 - 1 pm Chumash | Student Research | Michelle Mueller, History | The History of Safer: How Student Activism Shaped Cal Poly's Response to Sexual Violence | This project traces the history of Safer at Cal Poly, documenting the voices of students and staff who organized against gender- and power-based violence on campus in the 1990s. Through archival research and interviews, this project uncovers the events and individuals who challenged institutional silence and demanded accountability from university leadership. It explores the campus climate before Safer’s creation, the incidents that led to its founding, and the ways survivors, students, administrators, and media shaped public conversations on gender-based violence. The project further honors the stories of women, including Kristin Smart and Rachel Newhouse, whose lives were lost or forever altered by violence in the Cal Poly community. Preserved as a publicly accessible ArcGIS StoryMap, this work stands as both a historical record and a tribute to the survivors and advocates whose efforts reshaped campus culture — and as an acknowledgment of the silences, resistance, and resilience that continue to define Safer’s history. |
| 12:10 - 1 pm Chumash Right | Collective Care for those with Marginalized Identities | Andre Sillas, MA - Alcohol & Other Drugs | Survivorship and Substance: Understanding the correlation between Gender-Based Violence, Neurocognitive Development and the Self-Medication Hypothesis of Coping. | Under the guiding principle of Do No Harm, this session explores the widespread impact of gender-based violence (GBV) across diverse and marginalized communities. Attendees will examine the intersection of trauma and substance use through the lens of self-medication theory, gaining a deeper understanding of how survivors may turn to substances as a means of coping with the cognitive and emotional aftermath of GBV. Participants will leave equipped with practical dialogue strategies to address substance misuse—both in conversation with others and through internal self-reflection. In addition, attendees will be guided toward accessible resources to support recovery, healing, and community connection. This session centers compassion, empowerment, and the responsibility to reduce harm in all forms. |
| 1 - 2 pm Chumash | Keynote | Dr. Maya Hislop - English Department | Making Room for All of It: How we might learn from the complex Black women of the past to rethink the future of our discourse around sexual violence and white supremacy | Whenever I think about our current moment of rising white supremacy, the rise of authoritarianism, ever-increasing violence against our most vulnerable trans siblings, our immigrant siblings, and an ongoing rampage on our democracy, I think of three women: Harriet Jacobs, Recy Taylor, and Joan Little. I think how, even amidst all of the pain and all of the horror that they suffered in their time, they somehow found the strength to not only survive, but also thrive, to build movements with others, to seek help when they needed it. In this talk, I will share the stories of Harriet Jacobs, Recy Taylor, and Joan Little, three Black female victims of white supremacist sexual violence, three women from our history about whom we do not talk enough. I will explore how each continually teaches me to exist in the complex paradox of restriction and liberation while always pushing to demand more, more liberation, more justice, more, more, more. (160) |
