Friday marked the three-year anniversary of the murder of Lauren McCluskey on the University of Utah campus. To remember Lauren’s legacy, Salt Lake Community College held the Lauren McCluskey Awareness Walk at the Lifetime Activities Center on the Taylorsville Redwood Campus.
Students who walked laps on the indoor track on behalf of McCluskey also wore stickers that stated Lauren’s Promise: “I will listen and believe you if someone is threatening you.”
SLCC Student Association President Lindsay Simons orchestrated the event with volunteers to bring awareness to what happened to McCluskey and voice SLCCSA’s support for students at the college.
“We want to show students that we see you, we want to help you and we believe you,” Simons said.
Kailey Ruiz, a volunteer for the equity and diversity board, shared a message for McCluskey at the event.
“You may be gone, but we will fight for what you wanted,” Ruiz said.
Advocating for the safety of students is no simple act, according to Simons, because oftentimes students experience fear when considering approaching SLCC staff about a threatening situation.
“People don’t always want to go report things because they don’t know how that’s going to be taken,” Simons said.
To increase safety on the campus, SLCC is in the process of implementing new safety resources for students.
“We are trying to collaborate with the Utah Highway Patrol,” Simons said. “We want to make that relationship better so that students feel like they’re protected.”
Simons also encouraged all at SLCC to make Lauren’s Promise.
“I think all students, teachers, and staff should take [Lauren’s promise],” she said. “You never know when someone in your life is going to go through or is already going through harassment or abuse.”
