SADD will host speaker Malik Mitchell on Oct. 12 from the Aurora Center for Advocacy and Education at the University of Minnesota.

Q: How did you first get involved in this work?

A: I studied public health sciences in my undergraduate career where my program focus was on violence prevention. I saw the opportunity to put my studies into practice when I applied for the position at The Aurora Center. Now I work with both victim/survivors of sexual and relationship violence as well as folks in our community of violence prevention.

Q: What is your topic?

A: I’m planning to talk about creating a culture of consent in academic and social settings. It’s important to talk about this topic to have a more holistic view of what healthy communication and relationships can look like. Is a topic of conversation going on across the country right now.

Q: What’s something you hope students learn?

A: I want students to take away a sense of agency in initiating and continuing conversations among their peers about topics like consent and healthy relationships. In the United States, we live in a society where it is generally uncomfortable to talk about things like consent, and I want to help you all break down some of that stigma.

This story was reprinted from The Rubicon print edition September 26 2017.