As Sexual Assault Awareness Month approaches, WKU’s Office of Leadership and Volunteerism, together with the ALIVE Center, will be hosting Love the Way You Lie, a performance event.

Love the Way You Lie will be held in the Downing Student Union auditorium on March 29 at 7 p.m.

Coordinator of Leadership and Volunteerism for Diversity Josclynn Brandon said Love the Way You Lie uses performing arts to bring awareness to sexual assault.

“That’s one of the reasons I love this event, because through song [and] dance, people are able to bring awareness in a different way,” Brandon said.

The event has been put on in previous years, and several students are eager to attend.

“I was hoping I didn’t miss it because I want to know about sexual violence before it ever presented itself to me,” St. Louis junior Alexia Cannady said.

People who plan to attend the event will have something new to look forward to this year.

Spoken word artist Tro’Juan Henderson, a Texas native, will help host the event.

“We decided to bring in an outside host … to increase attendance,” Brandon said.

She said Johnson is known for doing spoken word pieces on topics that surround sexual assault.

Henderson is “a national performance poet and workshop facilitator,” according to his Presskit website.

Henderson is an advocate for survivors of sexual assault, rape and other forms of abuse. He also uses his talents as a poet to educate people about gender roles and inequality and to provide platforms “to give voices to women of color.”

Henderson, according to his website, has been invited to speak at a variety of venues, including Baylor University, Paul Quinn University, the University of Arizona and the Southwest Black Student Leadership Conference at Texas A&M University.

Brandon said her office’s goal is to increase male participation and have a diverse crowd.

“In years past, we’ve had a lot of performances from minorities and not many males in attendance,” Brandon said. “We want people to know this happens to more than just one demographic, and many should know about it.”

Nashville freshman Tyra Chatman, who has helped with the audition process, said she is excited about this event. Chatman hopes people leave with new knowledge.

“I hope that students and guests will be engaged and that they will leave knowing a little more about sexual assault and what is happening to people in everyday life,” Chatman said.

One in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. The same study found that one in five women and one in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives.

This event can allow people who are afraid to speak out about sexual violence to be comfortable and allow them to discuss the topic in a constructive way, Chatman said.

Chatman has participated in many events on campus but said helping with this event was different.

“It has been very interesting and a great learning experience being able to participate,” Chatman said. “This event has also kept me very busy, and I am excited for the outcome.”