On Tuesday, the University’s new Rape Crisis Center officially opened on campus after months of preparations.

Students and faculty gathered in the new center to celebrate the space and hear remarks from Sheila McMahon, the sexual assault services and prevention specialist who has returned to campus this semester after being on academic leave.

McMahon will be one of the primary people in charge of the center, along with Kristin Huang of the Psychological Counseling Center.

“Our ultimate goal is to put ourselves out of business,” McMahon said at the opening.

“It is a powerful moment to be able to come together … for the work that’s been done by so many in our community to make this possible.”

The Rape Crisis Center is an initiative started by the University’s Office of Prevention Services that was first proposed by members of Brandeis Students Against Sexual Violence in a petition last spring, according to an Apr. 8 Justice article.

Many community members were concerned about a lack of resources on campus for sexual assault survivors and established the RCC as a result of this.

The RCC will provide support to members of the community impacted by sexual violence with counseling, education and advocacy, as well as “steadily bring about a campus climate in which sexual violence is unacceptable,” according to the description on the new Facebook page.

The event also welcomed the University’s new Title IX Investigator Rebecca Tillar.

Last fall, the University was listed as one of over 75 total colleges and universities that were under investigation for potentially violating Title IX rights.

The University hired Tillar to help oversee the Title IX investigations as well as assist with education and outreach.

Tillar will also conduct informal investigations when complainants do not wish to enter a completely formal process, according to a March 3 Justice article.

Also present at the event were the three student coordinators of the RCC, Samantha Daniels ’16, Victoria Jonas ’15 and Ava Blustein ’15, who will serve at the RCC as the volunteer coordinator, the marketing and outreach coordinator and the office coordinator, respectively.

They are also available for advocacy and counseling during their office hours in the RCC.

“We are so excited to have officially opened the Brandeis Rape Crisis Center,” Jonas told the Justice.

“The official opening celebration was a way to invite the greater Brandeis community to meet the dedicated staff who will be working there, as well as get acquainted with our space.”

As the Marketing and Outreach Coordinator for the RCC, Jonas has also recently created a Brandeis University RCC Facebook page, which obtained over 300 ‘likes’ within a few days.

“The [Facebook page] will be a place to learn about the Center’s services, hours and staff, as well as a resource for generating awareness not only about the Center’s existence but general issues of sexual violence in the media and community,” Jonas said.

The center is still in the process of hiring student peer advocates, who will also provide help, information and emotional support to survivors of sexual assault.

A unique component of the advocates' role is medical advocacy, or accompanying survivors to the hosital for a rape kit, according to the article.

According to a Feb. 2 Justice article, the inaugural group of six to 10 peer advocates will serve as “additional members of the [center’s] team.”

The peer advocates must also go through an extensive training process.

The RCC is located in Usdan Student Center in room G-108 and will be open and accessible to students 9 a.m. through 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.