Acorn

Throughout the week, T-shirts have been displayed at the Commons for the entire Drew community to see.  These T-shirts hang in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Week here at Drew University. 

According to senior Julie Shapiro, president of the Women's Concerns Club, the idea behind the T-shirts is for people to create a visual dialogue of their experiences and know that they are not alone.  According to the national project's website, the clothesline is a "testimony to the problem of violence against women."

 Each color represents a different type of sexual assault. 

The color white represents people who have died because of violence. Yellow or beige represents battered or assaulted people. Red, pink and orange are for survivors of rape. Blue and green represent survivors of incest and sexual abuse. Purple or lavender represent people attacked because of their sexual orientation and black represents people attacked for political reasons, according to the site. 

All the T-shirts on the walls in the concourse have been made by members of the Drew community.  They will be displayed all week and can be made through tonight at dinner. 

The clothesline, however, is only one of the projects conducted at Drew in honor of SAAW.  On Tuesday, members of the Drew community gathered at The Space to hear poetry readings, songs and performances by the school's acapella groups.  Freshman he said during a speech between performances.  He later said, "My sense is that [the week] does deal with everything that is political and emotional at the same time.  A university is supposed to be the kind of place where we're able to give a voice to the voiceless and we should protect each other."

Programming Chair for the Women's Concerns Club, junior Dia O'Neil said the week is important because it makes people aware of what can happen.  "Sexual assault does happen here," she said. "It happens often.  It's overlooked and SAAW likes to get it out there in the open.  People have to acknowledge that it can happen to them."

On Wednesday there was an Alliance discussion and an event where Drew University Crocheting Knitting Society along with the Women's Concerns Club knitted scarves for victims of sexual violence.  The scarves will be donated to Threads of Compassion.

Today at 4 p.m. in The Space, Wellness Coordinator Kathy Werheim and the Health Nuts are running a Tea & Talk event on unhealthy relationships.  They will learn to identify warning signs of violent or abusive behavior and how to help a friend.

Tomorrow at 2 p.m. a Self-Defense Workshop will be held at the Lower Dance Studio of the Simon Forum.  "The Self-Defense workshop focuses on the physical and emotional aspects," O'Neil said.

The annual Take Back the Night March and Men's Vigil will be Sunday at 8:30 p.m.  "It is one of our most powerful and effective events," Shapiro said. "Men and women meet in Brothers College courtyard, where the men remain for a candlelight vigil.  The women march through campus, chanting frustrations and desires, pausing in dark places to read poetry and sing.  Afterwards, the men and women reunite and share their experiences, and return to the Womyn's Concerns House for tea, snacks and discussion.

Events are sponsored by the Women's Concerns Club, Women's Studies Program, Womyn's Concerns House, Aventis Wellness Program, the Psychology Department, the Alliance, DUCKS, Public Safety and Residence Life.

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