A pair of blue pajamas, a T-shirt and jeans, a blue jean shirt and running shorts — all articles of clothing worn by survivors of sexual assault when they were attacked.
The Students for Consent group will display the clothing in the Memorial Student Center as part of a survivor art installation entitled “What Were You Wearing?”
“The whole point of the installation is to challenge the rape myth of clothing causing it,” said student Jessi Weber, 26, a junior majoring in applied mathematics and computer science. Weber, of Middleton, is vice president of Students for Consent.
“It challenges the stigma that it was the victim . fault. The art installation allows you to go there and relate and to let people see themselves reflected in the outfits,” Weber said.
Students for Consent President Ellie McKee, 22, of Onalaska, a senior vocational rehabilitation major concentrating in alcohol and other drug abuse and social work, said her roommates remarked that the clothing is typical of what they would wear daily. They were silent as they reflected on that realization, McKee said.
The survivor art installation originated at the University of Arkansas in 2013. The installation will be in the Overlook Lounge, above the west entrance, in the student center Monday, April 9, to Tuesday, April 10, and then move to the Skylight Lounge Wednesday, April 11, to Friday, April 13.
On Wednesday, Speak About It, a group based in Portland, Maine, that performs skits about consent, boundaries and healthy relationships and suggests ways to confront the issues, will perform in the Great Hall of the student center at 7 p.m. The goal of the skit is to spark conversations and educate and empower attendees to create and sustain changes in the communities. The event is free and open to all.
A showing of the film “The Hunting Ground” is at 5 p.m. Friday, with a panel discussion at 7 p.m. in room 11o of Jarvis Hall Science Wing. The film has been described by the New York Times as “an unblinking look at sexual assaults on campus.”
Panel members include Julie Wiensch, Student Health Services; Lisa Pederson, police; John Achter, Dean of Students Office; Julie Matsunaga, Counseling Center; Jessica Jurgella, Involvement Center; and two representatives from the Bridge to Hope, Chloe Fetter and Angie McIlquham.
“Resources will be provided for students if they need to talk or want to make a report,” McKee said, noting the film is very powerful.
After the panel discussion, there will be a closing ceremony with a candle lighting, Weber said.
Students for Consent has been a campus organization for about five years. The first three years it was called Students Against Sexual Assault. Its goal is education about consent, healthy relationships and sexual assault.
One in six American women has been a victim of an attempted or competed sexual assault in her lifetime. One out of every 10 sexual assault victims are male. A total of 21 percent of transgender, genderqueer, nonconforming college students have been sexually assaulted, according to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network.
April is sexual assault awareness month.
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Photos
students Jessi Weber, at left, and Ellie McKee, show some of the clothing that is on display at the Memorial Student Center as part of a survivor art installation. The clothing matches descriptions sexual assault survivors reported they were wearing at the time of the assaults.
students Jessi Weber, at left, and Ellie McKee, sort through some of the clothing that is on display at the Memorial Student Center as part of a survivor art installation entitled “What Were You Wearing.” The installation is part of a week of events by the Students for Consent group that includes a skit and panel discussion.
