“One, two, three, four! We won’t take it anymore! Five, six, seven, eight! No more violence, no more hate!”–yelled the volunteers in the march across campus. Starting at the Andrews globe at 7:00 pm on Saturday, April 2, they huddled together under umbrellas and raincoats, dodging puddles and mushy mud patches throughout the sidewalk, braving the Berrien chill and rain.
The participants marched from the globe down the sidewalk straight into campus. Led by officers of the Women’s Empowerment Association of 老司机传媒 (WEAAU) in collaboration with the Pre-Law Society and Social Work Department, they joined together in chanting phrases against violence and sexual assault. Despite the soggy weather, the whole group persisted in the rallying cries and carved a path into the heart of campus, passing by the Solidarity Wall in front of Campus Center. That recently built construction displayed the initial supporting messages to people impacted by sexual assault. Over the following week, the Solidarity Wall slowly filled with encouraging words that protested against injustice and raised up the victims of sexual assault, as anyone on campus was free to add their thoughts on the wall.
The march came to a close as the line of participants looped around the edge of campus and ended up at the back entrance of Buller Hall. The second phase started with a closer look at the impacts and effects of sexual assault and rape culture through an artistic lens, with an exhibit of multiple art pieces. Each of the paintings, drawings, photographs, and other visual art mediums demonstrated a more raw and emotionally significant assertion of the nature of sexual assault, often evoking feelings of grief, pain, shame, disgust, and other strong negative emotions.
In one of the Buller Hall classrooms, an array of women’s clothes was set up on the table with slips of paper next to each item as captions, including descriptions of sexual assault to poems of the shame that often accompanies victimhood. These pieces each pushed back against the misplaced notion that the fault of a rape incident lies within the clothing a woman chooses to wear rather than the choices of the rapist.
Another room, set up by WEAAU officer Abigail Lee (sophomore, sociology), contained a couple projectors with more abstract images paired with hardly audible audio of someone speaking, creating an altogether unsettling experience that made viewers uncomfortable. Lee said, “I wanted to create an environment where people could walk in and physically experience a moment in the mind of someone who experienced trauma. By pairing specific imagery and layers of manufactured sound, I wanted viewers to learn the everyday hypervigilance, disassociation, and anger that many victims go through.” The art exhibit as a whole was very powerful and effective in transporting one into the suffering and trauma of that firsthand experience.
The final phase had everyone enter Newbold Auditorium, in which more performative art pieces were featured, including song and dance. These were followed by probably the most direct and raw portion of the event: personal testimonies. A few courageous survivors of sexual assault went up one at a time to the front of the auditorium to share their stories–not just of the horrors of becoming a victim, but also of the hope they have in their survival and future growth past it. Their emphasis on healing from the trauma and refusal to be defined by their victimhood, as well as finding solidarity with other victims of sexual assault, spoke volumes and was inspiring to much of the audience.
The following is a short interview conducted with the president of WEAAU and one of the main organizers of this event, Caryn Cruz (junior, English):
What does Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention month mean to you personally?
“This month is a very important time for me as both a WEAAU officer and as someone who is passionate about sexual assault awareness. Sparking conversation on campus about sexual assault is imperative for changing the culture that perpetuates harmful behavior, and I think Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) helps by creating a designated time to highlight this important issue.”
Who else is behind the scenes of this event?
“My fellow coordinators—Valerie Akinyi (senior, public health and political science) and Kalli Fuller (graduate, social work)—were instrumental in coordinating this event from the very beginning. Many groups/clubs were represented, from the Women’s Empowerment Association, the Pre-Law Society, the Social Work Department, the Office for Diversity and Inclusion, AU’s Title IX Representatives, Campus Safety, and AU’s AV team also contributed to making sure the event ran smoothly. Lastly, we reached out to several artists, off and on campus, that offered their artistic services for the creative portion of the event.”
What prompted you to organize the event the way you did?
“Kalli had mentioned to me earlier in the year about a nationwide march experience known as Take Back the Night that had been sparked on college campuses in the 90s. Meanwhile, Valerie and I had already planned on doing something for SAAM, and her team had considered a more artistic approach for the event. We felt both of those ideas were absolutely necessary to bring together for one collaborative experience!”
Resources for victims of sexual violence:
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of 老司机传媒. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, 老司机传媒 or the Seventh-day Adventist church.