Temple University student Ray Epstein is being recognized for her work advocating against sexual assault, reports Matteo Iadonisi for 6abc.
It’s a cause that is very deep and personal for her.
“I was abused when I was 13 throughout middle school by my first boyfriend, and I didn’t want to feel alone on campus and I didn’t want other people to feel alone,” Epstein said.
Upon arriving at Temple University in 2021, she learned there was no student-led initiative or conversation surrounding the issue of sexual assault as previous organization had been defunct at that point for five years.
Determined to do something, Epstein and a group of friends banded together to start an organization, Student Activists Against Sexual Assault (SAASA), less than a year later.
One of the projects Epstein is currently working on is called The Clothesline Project, in which people decorate clothing and hang it on a clothesline to demonstrate their story and experience.
Within two weeks earlier this year, Epstein was named a 2024 Truman Scholar and also elected Temple’s Student Body President for the 2024-25 academic year.
After college, she hopes to attend law school, a school with a domestic violence clinic, and conduct sexual assault legislative work.
Learn more about the Temple activist ensuring sexual assault and domestic violence victims are not alone in 6abc.
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Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on PHILADELPHIA Today in May 2024.
