Anna Tovello attended Divas and Desserts Wednesday night in support of sexual assault survivors. Tovello, a senior history major, said she had a few friends in high school who were victims of sexual assault. She said she often comes out to similar events.

“You just feel you’re obligated,” Tovello said. “Maybe it’ll get better if you go as a group with people learning together.”

Safe Passage, Voices for Change, MASIV (Men Against Sexual and Interpersonal Violence) and the Counseling and Student Development Center sponsored Wednesday night’s event at Neptune Central’s Fireside Lounge. The evening featured artwork, poetry, decorative T-shirts and several desserts.

Monique Alvarez, coordinator of the sexual assault program for Safe Passage, said the event’s purpose was to provide information about the sexual assault movement and honor advocates who have been a significant part of the sexual assault movement.

“We wanted to provide awareness in a fun, lighthearted way by providing desserts,” Alvarez said.

Desserts donated by community members were spread across a long table. T-shirts decorated by community members lined the fireplace.

Different colors represented different forms of sexual violence, Alvarez said. Blue and red T-shirts represented child sexual abuse and pink, red and orange represented adult sexual abuse. Two white T-shirts represented deaths resulting from sexual abuse.

There also was a book of poetry so personal a disclaimer was posted stating the poetry’s content may make the reader become emotional.

Five pieces of artwork created by sexual assault survivors also were displayed. The artwork helped the survivors reclaim their voice. One piece of artwork depicted a face with a tear going down the center.

Information about several Illinois sexual assault advocates were scattered on the wall, including Jeanne Meyer and Barb Fouts, two local advocates who were added this year, said Diane Pospisil-Kinney, a counselor at the Counseling and Student Development Center. Meyer co-developed the sexual assault program for Safe Passage and Fouts is a psychiatrist and the trainer-director at the CSDC.

“There’s a lot of people on campus we’d like to honor, so we’re going to identify a few every year,” Pospisil-Kinney said.

Several footprints formed in a path represented an actual time line in the sexual assault movement. New laws, events and people who have helped survivors and strides made in the movement were posted on the teal footprints.

Senior psychology major Stephanie Vela said she thinks it is important to display victims’ artistic expressions and remind victims of available resources.

Vela, a Safe Passage volunteer, said she saw a good turnout for the event.

“A lot of people are taking the time to actually look at the display,” Vela said. “I think people are moved by the displays provided by the survivors.”

Vela wore a white T-shirt with the number two written on the front to represent the statistic that one in four women have been victims of rape or attempted rape. Other Safe Passage volunteers wore shirts numbered one, three and four.