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Facebook page offers support for rape survivors

UEmpowered Queen’s — a Facebook initiative launched on February 16 — hopes to create a platform for rape victims to share their “Rape Culture Tales” at Queen’s.

A fourth-year gender studies student started this initiative to give victims a platform to share their stories anonymously.

“I think that it’s important to share these stories because it gives survivors, victims, and witnesses of sexual violence a public voice where they have the option to remain anonymous, and because it lets people know in one place exactly how often sexually violent incidences occur on our campus,” the student told the Journal via email.

The Facebook page operates like other social media outlets for sharing compliments and shout-outs anonymously.

The identity of both the authors of the posts and the host of the page itself will remain anonymous.

The creator of the page said it’s designed to be a platform to end the silence, victim blaming and shame victims may feel, and to draw attention to the realities of sexual assault on campus.

— Rachel Herscovici

Students discover smudge-proof technology

Surfaces including glass, metal and plastic could soon be immune to fingerprints, graffiti and more thanks to new technology discovered at Queen’s.

The coating — the product of chemistry researchers Guojun Liu and Dean Xiong — has the potential to repel deposits of oil and water on such surfaces, as well as surfaces like wood, ceramics and fibres.

The researchers are teaming up with Queen’s PARTEQ Innovations and manufacturer Lorama Inc. to bring the technology to market. Potential uses could include deterring graffiti, fingerprints, smudges and the freezing up of glass. Support for the project includes a total investment of $225,000 from Ontario Centres of Excellence.

— Holly Tousignant

Queen’s commended for hiring veterans

Queen’s was recently applauded by the Harper government for offering priority hiring practices for military veterans.

The pledge to hire veterans was announced in Ottawa on Thursday, with Principal Daniel Woolf and Eve Adams, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs, in attendance.

Last fall, the government introduced the Veterans Transition Action Plan, which aimed to ease the transition for veterans.

Adams called on other industries to follow in Queen’s footsteps and make similar commitments.

— Holly Tousignant

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