Jaden Hilkemann and Luke Urbonavicius making cocktails for the event.
On Tuesday, Jan. 28, the Campus Advocacy, Prevention and Education (CAPE) project hosted “Cocktails with CAPE and Friends” at Perry’s Dining Center by the East/West Dining Hall, offering an environment for students interested in knowing more about what CAPE is about, and how it’s impacted by the community here in Crete and at Doane.
It featured non-alcoholic drinks and cookies to create an inviting atmosphere for all those who attended and would like to join the organization. There were many Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, DEI, members related to supporting CAPE such as Luis Sotelo, representing Government Relations, Suzanne Mealer, the legal representative of Title XI, and Wendy Huntsmann, a DEI specialist. Also in attendance were important faces of Crete such as the police force and Voices of Hope, an organization that provides confidential support to victims of domestic violence and other forms of abuse.
Jaden Hilkemann, CAPE’s role director and a member of the DEI department, has been working in this program ever since her graduation a few years ago. She accepted this role to pursue her passion in raising awareness about this topic which is essential to reach out to as many others as possible. CAPE is funded by a federal grant that connects the community in Crete with Doane.
As stated in their mission statement, “CAPE’s vision is to shift our campus culture to one that promotes healthy communication, relationships, and sexual behavior.” Being the role director, she said the most influential part of the program is the peer educators who are being represented by the student body, consisting of those who advocate for others in the Doane community and want to raise awareness about this topic towards the community.
At the front panel, junior Tristen Brown, sophomore Ella Ningen and senior Alexis McDaniel-Gates are the peer educators who represented CAPE in this event. They are CAPE members who work to raise awareness about sexual assault and promote healthy relationships.
Students who join CAPE can expect “three days of training at the beginning of the Fall semester and meetings every two weeks that last about an hour,” as noted by Ningen. Their outreach includes campus-wide events, and “students involved in sports teams, performing arts, and Greek organizations are required to attend two sessions per semester,” McDaniel-Gates said.
