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A sea-blue T-shirt reads, “You do not stand alone” in capital letters on the bottom floor of Schine Student Center. Alongside sketches of Rosie the Riveter and quotes about pain and anger, that shirt is part of the latest exhibit for The Clothesline Project.

The Clothesline Project is a national initiative that aims to raise awareness about the prevalence and impact of sexual and relationship violence, said Barnes Center Peer Educator Kyra Birenbaum. Survivors create a T-shirt as part of their healing process, which are then displayed for fellow survivors as messages of strength and to facilitate dialogue for those impacted by abuse.

“It is incredibly important to engage with the stories of survivors who are courageous enough to display their raw emotions, thoughts and experiences,” said Birenbaum

Each individual shirt color denotes a certain form of trauma, Birenbaum said. For example, a yellow shirt represents a survivor of physical assault or domestic violence while purple represents a person who survived an attack based on their sexual orientation.

The display is confined within a black curtain, with a trigger warning message on the outside, warning viewers that the exhibit contains sensitive material.

Some shirts’ messages spoke on specific instances of trauma, such as “I know you will never stop so I will just fly away and be free from your words and actions.”

Others focused on the healing process. One shirt read, “Your past is only a reminder of your strength and courage, potential and purpose,” and another said, “I’m a survivor… I didn’t give up… I made it! Speak up! Fight back against violence.”

Survivors, representatives of survivors and general supporters gathered to decorate several of the shirts for the project at Sigma Psi Zeta’s philanthropy event.

“Students should participate to let others know that they have a support system on this campus, and that there are people and resources willing to listen and help,” said Chelsea Kang, the philanthropy chair for Sigma Psi Zeta.

Kang said that the sorority’s philanthropy mission is to fight violence against women, so they decided to collaborate with the Barnes Center and its events for Dating & Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The Barnes Center set up the Clothesline Project display in the hopes that it will educate and raise awareness for sexual violence on the SU campus.

Birenbaum reiterated these goals and said that it is impossible to overemphasize the importance of events like these on campus to create a space for survivors to heal.

“We must give a platform and amplify the voices of victims, survivors and their loved ones who are too-often silenced,” Birenbaum said. “By doing our part, we can help shift the rape culture that is so prevalent in our society and campus.”

Birenbaum emphasized the power this exhibit can wield for survivors, allowing them to heal in a safe way, as well as raising awareness for the campus community.

Viewers should give people space as they observe the shirts and not to call attention to their reactions, Birenbaum said. The exhibit is meant to be a private experience that may be overwhelming, she said.

Abhishek Ramamurthy, a first year graduate student, said that while it is hard to hear about survivors of sexual trauma and domestic abuse, it’s very important to open up the conversation to raise awareness on campus.

Syracuse has done a Clothesline Project display in various forms for over ten years. In the past, the exhibit has been displayed in multiple locations, including the Panasci Lounge of the Schine Center where the shirts were hung on a clothesline visibly, not contained within a black curtain as they are this year.

This year’s current exhibit, with over 30 shirts, will be up from Oct. 17 until Oct. 21 for students and visitors to engage with. Some students walking past the exhibit, like sophomore Ana Acosta and junior Natalia Cardone, said that they were glad to see an exhibit talking about this issue on campus.

“This display is a really proactive form of talking about this issue,” said Cardone. “It’s so much better to see it in person than to see it on social media.”

Published on October 18, 2022 at 10:28 pm