Next week, Student Sexual Assault Services will sponsor two programs that aim to help raise the awareness of sexual assaults on campus. The first event will be the Clothesline Project Exhibition, which will take place Monday through Thursday. The second event is Get Carded Day, a day-long, campuswide event that occurs Wednesday.
This is the 10th year that the Clothesline Project will occur on Mississippi State’s campus, said Adrian Tate, graduate assistant of sexual assault services. “The purpose of the event is to raise campus awareness about sexual assaults,” Tate said.
The clothesline will hang on the Drill Field from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. In the event of uncooperative weather, the display will move to the Instructional Media Center in Mitchell Memorial Library.
Each different colored shirt that is hung represents a different type of abuse. A white shirt means the victim was killed in an act of violence. A yellow shirt means the victim was assaulted physically, verbally or emotionally. A red, pink or orange shirt symbolizes that the victim survived rape. A blue or green shirt shows the victim survived incest. A purple shirt represents a victim who was attacked for his or her sexual orientation. Lastly, a black shirt symbolizes a victim who was attacked for political reasons.
“The clothesline exists so that somebody can either tell their story of sexual assault or they can tell somebody else’s story,” Tate said. The color of the T-shirt is not mandatory, and the Instructional Media Center in Mitchell Memorial Library will be open if somebody would like to make his or her shirt in private.
“Anyone can bring his or her already-made shirt up to the Drill Field, or they can make one on the Drill Field,” Tate said.
There will be paint and markers supplied by Sexual Assault Services, and some T-shirts have been donated.
Get Carded Day will take place Wednesday. “Wallet-size cards will be dispensed to the general public and the cards will contain information such as the sexual assault hotline, what to do if you are a victim of assault and how to prevent being sexually assaulted,” Tate said. “State students just need to be really aware of the dangers that are sometimes posed on campus by doing irresponsible things.”
“I know I do some things, like listening to my iPod and walking in dark places, that probably aren’t really safe to do, but I feel comfortable walking on campus during the night,” said Amanda Goodwin, a junior nutrition major. “I usually walk from my house downtown to the library every night. I just think of our campus as a lot safer than campuses elsewhere.”
Jamie Hullum, a junior clinical exercise physiology major, also feels that Mississippi State’s campus is safer than other campuses.
“I have the impression that I’m safe when I walk to my car at night in the Sanderson parking lot,” Hullum said. “The parking lot has many lights, and it’s very well lit, just like I think most of the campus is as well.”
Amanda Shirley, a junior public relations major, has a different approach to dealing with the threat of assaults on campus.
“I never really think about it when I walk to my car alone at night,” Shirley said.
She said that this is probably not the safest thing to do and that she is probably nonchalant when it comes to avoiding unwanted confrontations on campus.
“I never really think about that happening to me, and I know that other victims of sexual or physical assault have probably thought the same as I do.”
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