East Stroudsburg University will hold the \u201cWhat Were You Wearing?\u201d Survivor Art Installation from April 8 \u2013 11, 2018 in the University Center Study Lounge, second floor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat Were You Wearing?\u201d is an art installation that aims to remove the blame that is placed on a victim of sexual assault when asked this question. The exhibit will feature narratives of sexual assault survivors alongside clothing similar to what they were wearing when they were assaulted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Installation challenges participants to engage with the universal\u00a0connection we have with clothing and reflect on what gives this specific rape culture myth so much power,\u201d according to information from the University of Kansas, where the exhibit first appeared. To connect the simple act of putting on clothing with pain and suffering \u201ctaints not only the individual outfit for the survivor; but also, calls in to question all simplistic and normal behaviors as dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stephanie McCall, Ed.D., assistant professor of professional and secondary education, first saw the media coverage of the installation from the University of Kansas on huffingtonpost.com. \u201cIt immediately affected me and my senses. When I saw it was on university campuses, I said to myself, \u2018I want to do this for our campus!\u2019\u201d said Dr. McCall. \u201cI think it is provocative as art and as a political statement about an incredibly poignant social issue right now.\u201d\u00a0McCall, a sexual assault survivor herself, hopes this survivor art installation will offer the same help and healing from the trauma she has experienced.<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s Resources of Monroe County will provide victim care, survivor support, and counseling services at all times during the installation. Women\u2019s Resources of Monroe County provides free and confidential counseling, legal advocacy, prevention education, and much more to ESU and the community. Jessica Boe, current prevention and outreach coordinator, and Paige Fetterly, former prevention and outreach coordinator, have been greatly involved and supportive in putting together the art installation. \u201cWhen I heard about this, I thought about all of the survivors that have been asked this question,\u201d said Boe. \u201cPeople need to be more considerate and thoughtful and realize how much blame it puts on the victim.\u201d<\/p>\n
This project has been made possible by many departments and organizations throughout campus and the community. Doreen Tobin, D.Ed., vice president of student affairs, secured the It\u2019s On Us grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education, which enables postsecondary institutions to further educate, address, prevent, and respond effectively to sexual violence. The Governor\u2019s It\u2019s On Us PA grant program aims to support postsecondary institutions\u2019 efforts to create campus environments in which all community members are informed, active bystanders working together to end sexual violence, and where survivors are able to access the rights, resources, and accommodations afforded to them through state and federal law.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat Were You Wearing?\u201d was originally a poem written by Dr. Mary Simmerling which was adapted into the Survivor Art Installation at the University of Kansas in 2013, and has been spreading across the nation since. \u201cMy hope is that this exhibit disrupts the notion that any victim is \u2018asking for it\u2019 because of how they dress or anything that they do,\u201d said McCall. \u201cWe should consider survivor strength as much as we advance awareness about the trauma of sexual assault and imagine perpetrator stereotypes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The exhibit is open to the public Sunday, April 8, 3-6 p.m., Monday, April 9, 11:30 a.m-6 p.m., Tuesday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m., and Wednesday, April 11, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. The Survivor Art Installation will conclude with the annual \u201cTake Back the Night Walk\u201d facilitated by Women\u2019s Resources of Monroe County. The walk will begin at the Courthouse Square in Stroudsburg at 5:30 and will conclude at ESU.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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