By Students artistically expressed their experiences with sexual or gender-based violence on T-shirts and then hung them on a clothesline for all to see as part of Wednesday’s Clothesline Project event. Lines of colorful shirts hung beneath a bright, sunny sky, revealing stories of rape, incest and assault. The clothesline display was the centerpiece of the Break the Silence Fair, held in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Cal State Long Beach students flocked to the tables set up by the Speaker’s Platform to paint words and drawings on tees, learn to prevent and recover from assault and listen to speakers.
“When we do [the Clothesline Project], we make other campuses want to join in,” said psychology junior Katherine Swanee, who was volunteering at the event as part of her service-learning project. She became passionate about helping women after taking a women’s studies course in a previous semester.
“[The project] helps people open up about [their experiences],” Swanee said. “Many are afraid to speak out, talk about it. It’s kinda taboo. It happens a lot more than we think it does. It’s eye-opening to people who haven’t personally experienced it and it helps those personally affected think of themselves as a survivor and not a victim.”
Alongside the tee-making station, campus and local groups offered informational materials and freebies ranging from candy to condoms. Among them were Counseling and Psychological Services, Not Alone at the Beach, Salud A La Vida, Student Health Services and the LA Center for Law and Justice.
Justin Quinn, a Community Service Officer, encouraged students to call the CSULB University Police Night Escort Program if they ever feel unsafe walking around campus after dark. With one call, community service officer is ready to provide an escort service anywhere on campus. According to Quinn, the station receives most of their escort requests at night, especially from places like the library or Parking Lot A.
Victim Advocate and Volunteer Coordinator Cindy Tamayo, who works with LGBTQ Victim Advocacy organization Angel Step Up in Downey, notes that schools have become more inclusive in their sexual awareness activism. However, although the LGBT community has received more representation, other groups still tend to be excluded.
“In my opinion, [this event] seems catered more to women than men,” she said. “[There isn’t] too much focus on men who have been assaulted. A lot of the time they don’t know where to go and there’s a lot of shame attached. Some people think males can’t get sexually assaulted. Anyone can be affected by [sexual violence], anywhere.”
Although many organizations shared a few words with students, it was Zoe Ann Nicholson, an equality activist, speaker and author, who held many a participant’s attention with her poem “Because I Breathe,” which dealt with aspects of victim-blaming and consent.
“Remember, all you have to do is breathe and you have the right to say no,” she said.
Students shared a cup of free coffee while conversing with police, snacked on chicken wraps and learned how to use a date rape drug detector, but many preferred the company of an entirely different species.
Therapy dogs and guinea pigs basked in the affection of doting college students. Claudette and Keith Adkins of Paws 4 Healing brought the animals to comfort anyone who became upset during the event and to share the benefits of non-human companions during times of distress. The non-profit organization provides therapy animals to people facing high-stress situations, including those recovering in hospitals, about to undergo surgery or testifying to a violent crime in court.
“I can attest that [animal assisted interaction] is a healing source,” Claudette Adkins said. “Animals can be so calming and often easier to talk to.”
Another organization that attempts to make talking about traumatic issues easier is Project Rise, a student group created last semester that offers support for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and also provides resources to teach consent and healthy relationships.
Dali Ny, a senior anthropology major and a member of Project Rise, says the goal is to make it “easier for students to talk about these issues with another student and break down the stigma of sharing [their stories.] We’re trying to make it more accessible and personable.”
Ny first heard of the Clothesline Project in high school.
“I recognized the handwriting of my peers [on some of the tees] and it really shocked me,” she said. “Although it sucks, [survivors] are not alone [in their hardship]. It’s nice for them to have that solidarity.”
