Clothesline Project Visualizes Words of Victims
Story by Broadside Assistant News Editor Sonya Hudson. Photos by Brittany Rouse.
T-shirts decorated by the George Mason University community, honoring victims of sexual assault, lined the quad in front of Student Union Building I and the grove (the area between Harris Theatre and SUB I) from October 14-17 during Turn Off the Violence Week.
The clothesline project was an attempt to raise awareness about the severity of sexual assault, rape, domestic and sexual violence. Sexual Assault Services provided plain white T’s for members of the Mason community to decorate, voicing their opinions, concerns, fears and condolences.
Rachel Lindsey, the Outreach Coordinator for Sexual Assault Services explained, “The Clothesline Project is a collection of T-shirts that honors victims of violence,” said Lindsey.
Students, faculty and staff can “make T-shirts for themselves, friends, loved-ones or just a generic one that conceptually supports victims,” said Lindsey. Every T-shirt is not specific, but all the T-shirts have similar effects and support the same cause.
The shirts conveyed various messages. Some were personal, some generic, some graphic and others tame. All conveyed the severity of sexual assault and the frightening situations women find themselves in.
Mason celebrates Turn Off the Violence Week in association with the independent organization, Turn Off the Violence, an independent, non-sectarian, charitable organization. This organization has no paid staff. Even the co-founder, Sheila Miller, volunteers her time.
According to its Web site, Turn Off the Violence’s goal is that, “Some day together we may reap the harvest in a world that thinks of violence only as the last resort, not the only option, ... or the best.”
“Our mission is to educate and inspire people to prevent violence in their homes, schools, workplaces and communities,” as stated on the site.
The second Thursday of every October, Domestic Violence Awareness month, is the official Turn Off the Violence Day, as proclaimed by the Turn Off the Violence organization. Mason extended the national day celebration to a week with the clotheslines hanging project.
The T-shirts lining the trees show Mason students’ support.
“It’s a great way for people to speak their minds in a safe way,” said senior Ebony Jeter, a sociology major. Jeter explained that the clothesline project offered an anonymity in which students felt free to express their opinions and emotions openly.
The T-shirts offered a visual impact that served to educate the Mason community on sexual assault and violence. The t-shirts created a personal aspect to the broader problem of violence against women.
“It is a visual way to show the campus, people care in general,” said senior Tiffany Reaves, a sports management major. Reaves said that the visual aspect of The Clothesline Project is more memorable than simple conversation, a feature previously provided.
For more information on the organization, Turn Off the Violence, visit www.turnofftheviolence.org.
For more information on sexual violence on campus, visit the Sexual Assault Services office in SUB I or visit the Web site, www.gmu.edu/facstaff/sexual.
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