Most students have taken some notice of the Stand Up, Don’t Stand By campaign. After all, the bright green flyers and shirts on 3D Thursdays are hard to miss. However, the leaders of the campaign have been working for months to have an even bigger event: a 5k race.
The 3D Dash, Stand Up, Don’t Stand By 5k will be held on April 19 on the midway between the Student Center and Sara Cree hall. Registration begins at 9 a.m. and the race starts at 10 a.m.
Matthew Jaskel, the chair of the 3D Dash committee and residence hall associate at Shepherd, said that the idea for a race came from collaboration between Shepherd counseling services and the Shenandoah Women’s Center, the organization that will be receiving the proceeds from the race. Rhonda Jackson, who was one of the founders of the 3D Thursday campaign, was a huge influence in coming up with the race idea.
“Rhonda sometimes says that she won’t retire until there are no more incidents of sexual violence on campus anymore,” Jaskel said. “The idea came from the passion of wanting to end this violence not only at Shepherd University, but in our community.”
Jackson approached Jaskel to head the committee to plan the 5k because of his experience in organizing races before. He and the other members of the committee have worked since early this semester to make sure everything on race day goes as smoothly as possible.
Jaskel predicted that race day will be highly successful, especially for the first year of a race. “There’s a lot of buzz about the race,” he said. “People want to get involved because of the message.” The 3D Dash’s aim is to raise awareness about sexual assault on Shepherd’s campus and the community around it.
Anyone can preregister to run by picking up a form from the Rams Den, Wellness Center, or in the residence life office. The price is $15 for students and $20 for non-students.
“Come out to the race. Run, walk, or just hang out on the midway,” Jaskel said. “We just really want everyone to have a good time and hear the message we are putting out.”
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