The STRIVE office has partnered with the It’s On Us club to display t-shirts as part of the Clothesline Project for sexual assault awareness.
The Clothesline Project is a way to display statistics about sexual assault, help survivors find resources and provide comfort to survivors. The project started on Wednesday, Nov. 6.
Survivors and supporters were encouraged to attend a shirt making and storytelling event. Victims of assault and violence were given the opportunity to share their stories in a safe environment, and anyone was welcome to make a shirt to be hung in the student center from Nov. 6 to Nov. 13.
“We had two different rooms set up,” Charlie Kimsey, STRIVE intern, said. “What I wanted to do was have one room for talking and sharing stories and have another room for people who want to participate and make a shirt but maybe don’t want to hear those stories. Sometimes those stories are hard to tell and hard to hear.”
Each color of shirt represents a different type of violence. Red and pink shirts are associated with survivors of rape and sexual assault. Yellow is for those who have been abused or harmed in dating or domestic violence. Green is representative of survivors of incest, sexual abuse as a child or people whose parents were in abusive relationships.
Purple is for those who have been attacked because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. Gray shirts are for those who died because of sexual or intimate partner violence. White, blue and black are used to represent those who are allies, advocates and supporters of those who have experienced sexual assault.
Those who made shirts were encouraged to grab the color that resonated the most with their experiences or the experiences of others they know.
Most of the shirts currently displayed in the student center are from the shirt making event, but roughly five or six are from last semester. The STRIVE office and It’s on Us club want to do the project twice a year.
They plan to host an event in October for domestic violence awareness month and another in April for sexual assault awareness month.
Fliers and other information can be found through the STRIVE office in the lower area of the Student Center.
Kimsey is currently in training to be the Haven House advocate on campus, which means she will be a pillar of support for students who are seeking help. She does not currently have office hours but is hoping to have them available for the spring semester.
“Sometimes it’s better to have other students stand by you other than an adult that you have less in common with,” Kimsey said.
