By Susan White
Students in all three sections of the School’s “Human Behavior in the Social Environment (SOWO 505)” classes participated in “The Clothesline Project” on Friday, March 16, to help draw attention to domestic violence and to encourage support for survivors.
The students decorated T-shirts with slogans and drawings as a way of advocating for survivors. The T-shirts were displayed in the 5th floor lounge of the Tate-Turner-Kuralt Building.
According to the project, which started in Hyannis, Mass. in 1990, the purpose is to “bear witness to the survivors as well as the victims of the war against women; to help with the healing process for people who have lost a loved one or are survivors of this violence; to educate, document, and raise society’s awareness of the extent of the problem of violence against women; and to provide a nationwide network of support, encouragement, and information for other communities starting their own Clothesline Projects.”
The morning’s event also included a panel discussion with domestic violence survivors and social workers. Marty Weems, clinical assistant professor; Lisa de Saxe Zerden, visiting clinical assistant professor, and Marilyn Ghezzi, clinical instructor, lead the classes and helped organize the project.