Undergraduate
Saint Michael's students organize The Clothesline Project on campus
"Breaking the Silence"
Contact Information:
Buff Lindau, Public Relations
802.654.2536
blindau@smcvt.edu
After weeks of study, 15 Saint Michael's College students in sociology Professor Vince Bolduc's Peace and Justice first-year seminar decided unanimously to host a display of The Clothesline Project on Monday, Oct. 19, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on the Saint Michael's campus green. [This will be re-scheduled in case of rain or snow.] The Saint Michael's students chose the project to raise awareness around the prevalence of violence and sexual abuse.
Originally conceived by a coalition of women's groups in Massachusetts in 1990, the Clothesline Project has grown over the years to involve some 500 projects nationwide with a collection of 50,000 to 60,000 shirts. Projects have been staged in 41 states and five countries.
"We are doing the Clothesline Project to bring into the light peoples' personal experiences of sexual violence, and to help bring healing to those affected by this issue," said Alexa Foote, a first-year Saint Michael's student from Shelburne, Vt., majoring in computer science.
100 shirts to be hung across 300 feet of clothesline on Saint Michael's campus green
The Clothesline Project is designed to raise awareness of the impact of violence on women and men and to honor survivors of violence. The project at Saint Michael's, co-sponsored by the Women's Rape Crisis Center (WRCC), consists of a visual display of some 100 hand-painted tee shirts designed by survivors of violence or by friends and family. The shirts, loaned by the WRCC from their collection, will be hung on some 300 feet of clotheslines strung between trees on the Saint Michael's College green and on three free-standing umbrella-style clotheslines.
"I was concerned that the topic could overwhelm any student who might have had a prior experience with sexual violence, but who might be reluctant to raise her discomfort in class," Professor Bolduc said. To solve this, he had students vote by anonymous ballot with the understanding that a single "no" vote would be sufficient to end the project. "That veto never came," the professor said.
Students will be present to discuss the project; those who wish can paint a shirt.
The entire class is working on the project and will be installing the clotheslines and hanging shirts, and will be present through the day to talk with the college community about the project. The students were particularly struck by the worldwide epidemic of violence against women.
Originally inspired by the emotional power of the enormous AIDS Quilt project, the Clothesline Project is predicated on the once-strong connection between women and clotheslines. Women typically did the laundry and hung the clothes out to dry on clotheslines, where they sometimes found support and friendship chatting over backyard fences with their neighbors.
The original project organizers state that, "Participating in this project [designing a shirt] provides a powerful step towards helping a survivor break through the shroud of silence that has surrounded her experience." The project has become "a provocative, 'in-your-face' educational and healing tool." There will be several tables set up for people to create their own shirts for display if they choose to do so.
Co-sponsors, the Women's Rape Crisis Center, indicated that there will be a color code for the shirts, with white shirts dedicated to persons who have died as a result of violence; red/orange/pink for persons who have survived sexual violence; green/blue for persons who have survived incest or sexual abuse; yellow/tan for persons who have survived domestic violence; purple for persons assaulted for their sexual orientation; and grey for persons assaulted for their race, religion or gender.
At Saint Michael's College, Learn What Matters. Saint Michael's is a distinctive Catholic liberal arts college that provides education with a social conscience, producing graduates with the intellectual tools to lead a successful, purposeful life that will contribute to peace and justice in our world. Founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, Saint Michael's is identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nation's Best 371 Colleges. It is one of 270 colleges and universities nationwide, and one of only 20 Catholic colleges, with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter. Saint Michael's has 1,900 undergraduate students, some 500 graduate students and 100 international students. Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other grants. The college is one of the nation's Best Liberal Arts Colleges as listed in the 2009 U.S. News & World Report rankings. Saint Michael's is located just outside Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top college towns.
Buff Lindau, Public Relations
802.654.2536
blindau@smcvt.edu
After weeks of study, 15 Saint Michael's College students in sociology Professor Vince Bolduc's Peace and Justice first-year seminar decided unanimously to host a display of The Clothesline Project on Monday, Oct. 19, between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on the Saint Michael's campus green. [This will be re-scheduled in case of rain or snow.] The Saint Michael's students chose the project to raise awareness around the prevalence of violence and sexual abuse.Originally conceived by a coalition of women's groups in Massachusetts in 1990, the Clothesline Project has grown over the years to involve some 500 projects nationwide with a collection of 50,000 to 60,000 shirts. Projects have been staged in 41 states and five countries.
"We are doing the Clothesline Project to bring into the light peoples' personal experiences of sexual violence, and to help bring healing to those affected by this issue," said Alexa Foote, a first-year Saint Michael's student from Shelburne, Vt., majoring in computer science.
100 shirts to be hung across 300 feet of clothesline on Saint Michael's campus green
The Clothesline Project is designed to raise awareness of the impact of violence on women and men and to honor survivors of violence. The project at Saint Michael's, co-sponsored by the Women's Rape Crisis Center (WRCC), consists of a visual display of some 100 hand-painted tee shirts designed by survivors of violence or by friends and family. The shirts, loaned by the WRCC from their collection, will be hung on some 300 feet of clotheslines strung between trees on the Saint Michael's College green and on three free-standing umbrella-style clotheslines.
"I was concerned that the topic could overwhelm any student who might have had a prior experience with sexual violence, but who might be reluctant to raise her discomfort in class," Professor Bolduc said. To solve this, he had students vote by anonymous ballot with the understanding that a single "no" vote would be sufficient to end the project. "That veto never came," the professor said.
Students will be present to discuss the project; those who wish can paint a shirt.
The entire class is working on the project and will be installing the clotheslines and hanging shirts, and will be present through the day to talk with the college community about the project. The students were particularly struck by the worldwide epidemic of violence against women.
Originally inspired by the emotional power of the enormous AIDS Quilt project, the Clothesline Project is predicated on the once-strong connection between women and clotheslines. Women typically did the laundry and hung the clothes out to dry on clotheslines, where they sometimes found support and friendship chatting over backyard fences with their neighbors.
The original project organizers state that, "Participating in this project [designing a shirt] provides a powerful step towards helping a survivor break through the shroud of silence that has surrounded her experience." The project has become "a provocative, 'in-your-face' educational and healing tool." There will be several tables set up for people to create their own shirts for display if they choose to do so.
Co-sponsors, the Women's Rape Crisis Center, indicated that there will be a color code for the shirts, with white shirts dedicated to persons who have died as a result of violence; red/orange/pink for persons who have survived sexual violence; green/blue for persons who have survived incest or sexual abuse; yellow/tan for persons who have survived domestic violence; purple for persons assaulted for their sexual orientation; and grey for persons assaulted for their race, religion or gender.
At Saint Michael's College, Learn What Matters. Saint Michael's is a distinctive Catholic liberal arts college that provides education with a social conscience, producing graduates with the intellectual tools to lead a successful, purposeful life that will contribute to peace and justice in our world. Founded in 1904 by the Society of St. Edmund and headed by President John J. Neuhauser, Saint Michael's is identified by the Princeton Review as one of the nation's Best 371 Colleges. It is one of 270 colleges and universities nationwide, and one of only 20 Catholic colleges, with a Phi Beta Kappa chapter. Saint Michael's has 1,900 undergraduate students, some 500 graduate students and 100 international students. Saint Michael's students and professors have received Rhodes, Woodrow Wilson, Pickering, Guggenheim, Fulbright, and other grants. The college is one of the nation's Best Liberal Arts Colleges as listed in the 2009 U.S. News & World Report rankings. Saint Michael's is located just outside Burlington, Vermont, one of America's top college towns.
