The annual Clothesline Project, which promotes awareness of sexual assault and violence on college campuses, raised the shirts of survivors for display this past Wednesday and Thursday. Located in Founder’s Garden Circle, the event, which is sponsored by Temple’s Wellness Resource Center, has taken place each year for the last eight years. For nearly a decade, t-shirts varying in colors read the words of victims of sexual assault along with students who commit to preventing it.
Within the garden, the clothes that were hung up were of those that have been made over the last four years, those t-shirts alone filling the space. Interim Director Tom Johnson of the Temple Wellness Resource Center communicated his expectations for the project in the years to follow. He maintains that having less people making shirts is ideal. “Obviously, you don’t want to see people have to make shirts because they are a survivor, but also I don’t want that to be a discouragement if somebody is a survivor and this helps them in their process,” Johnson said. “I want them to feel like this is a space where they can do so.”
As students pass by the demonstration, they can observe a colorful arrangement of t-shirts that have accumulated since the start of the project as well as make one themselves to support victims. The program was established as a channel for those who have experienced sexual assault to remain anonymous while simultaneously giving life to their stories. Shirts ranging in colors like blue, green, purple, red, and pink are just some of the colors of shirts that students could decorate. The use of vibrant colors is an attempt to seek student involvement and encourage participation around campus.
Earlier this year, Temple University Student Athletes participated in the National Student Athletic Advisory Committee campaign entitled, “It’s On Us,” a movement to help keep men and women safe from sexual assault. The video, which discusses consensual sex, can be found here.
If you’d like to support the effort, click here to take the pledge against assault. You can also attend “The Clothesline Production,” an addition to the project, on Thursday, October 6th from 8:00-10:00 pm in The Underground (located in the lower level of Student Center South). The event will include an evening of spoken word, dance, and musical performances to help bring awareness for sexual assault and interpersonal violence.
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