Teachers and staff are always looking for new ways to better the school environment. However, in certain situations it’s best for students/peers to take charge in ways that teachers might not be able to. Five juniors from Parkway Central High School created a group known as SAAP (Sexual Assault Awareness Program), in hopes of unification for the school, and a safe space for those who need it. The co-founders of this group include Mason Byrd, Sophie Unger, Sean Murphy, Ghadi Monla, and Ryann Thuston. 

The club is the newest addition to PCH, and is currently undergoing creation. With the club still being constructed, there has yet to be a set-in-stone meeting plan. The club has an “open door policy” meaning that anyone who desires is allowed to join or attend a meeting,” Monla said. Monla said that this decision was made because “we wanted the club to be very accessible to all.” Monla said that students can expect to see flyers in the halls of Parkway Central very soon.

With the motive of the creation of this group being a shared injustice between the founders, it may seem very easy to make it seem as though this group is an act of retaliation, but it is not, and the founders really want to express and capitalize on the fact this group is no act of retaliation, but an act of unification. 

According to the article, Teenagers & Sexual Violence, “one in four girls and one in six boys have been sexually abused before the age of 18.¨  The club founders say that these numbers are way too high for the world we live in and the founders saw this as a problem that needs to be brought up and talked about in order to change these concerning numbers by spreading awareness through schools and taking that first step. 

The production of Central’s Sexual Assault Awareness program has influenced other schools students and other students in the Parkway District have began there creation of there very own SAAP group.

Not only is the goal of this group to spread awareness around the school. But to create a safe place to help all and any students who need support. Sexual Assault is traumatizing and can lead to depression, anxiety, PTSD, eating disorders, and low self-esteem, which is why this group hopes that by making this group people will be able to make a friend they trust and can talk with. 

School can become overpowering and stressful and having a friend you might be able to relate to or talk to can help significantly. 

“Our plan is to have students come in after school to either talk, or just sit down and do activities to help cope with anything that might be going on,” Bryd said. 

“We want to create a safe environment for students to feel comfortable going to our meetings, and we also want students to have the ability to make friends that they feel comfortable talking to and expressing their feelings with,” Thuston said. “We want to create a safe environment for students to feel comfortable going to our meetings, and we also want students to have the ability to make friends that they feel comfortable talking to and expressing their feelings with.”

Lastly, with the group establishing, they hope to also start fundraising for more access to sexual assault support groups that are located in the St. Louis area in hope to help people all around the city.