Loy Norrix’s Safe2Tell program was introduced in 2019, making the reporting process of sexual harassment and assault easier for students. It guarantees that any information shared with teachers is passed along to administrators and, when appropriate, law enforcement. Teal ribbons with the title “Safe2Tell” mark the doors of teachers trained to take these reports. At the beginning of this school year, however, Principal Christopher Aguinaga received a letter from the State of Colorado Department of Law.

“Something from the attorney general is always a little anxiety-producing,” said Aguinaga. “I opened it and read it. I understood it. It was a friendly letter, but it was also a little disappointing.”

The letter was essentially a cease and desist order, forcing Aguinaga to rename the program. The State of Colorado owns all rights to the trademark, thus making the name of Norrix’s harassment reporting  program a copyright violation.

Renaming the program is Aguinaga’s next step. Although he does not currently have a set name, he plans on enlisting the help of the Student Senate and Norrix staff to choose a new moniker. He hopes the change will only take a few weeks to implement.

Despite this change, the program will remain essentially the same. Counselors will train teachers for receiving reports of sexual harassment or assault. Based on the information they receive, teachers will reach out to administrators and potentially contact law enforcement. These trained teachers have teal ribbons on their doors to distinguish them from untrained teachers.

Although the name will be replaced with a new, copyright-free one, students can still rely on this avenue for reporting incidents of sexual harassment and assault.