A Sobering Display Wraps Up SVA Month

 

Few issues affect our culture more than those of sexual violence, and that does not mean exclusively women. Everyone is at risk, and the Center for Women & Gender wants you to be aware and active!

April is Sexual Violence Awareness month in the US, and the Burlington area of Vermont has been alive with activity, from the Dismantling Rape Culture Conference at UVM to the Take Back the Night rally in town.

The Gender Center has been tabling outside in the lawn in front of the Chapel with fellow gender groups RU12? (LGBT community group) and H.O.P.E. Works (sexual violence crisis group).

As I type this, I'm sitting with Julia who runs the Center for Women and Gender. We are maintaining the table so that passing students can stop and get information about resources and support. "I'm looking forward to doing more sexual violence prevention education," says Julia, who in the past year has helped bring the Center to the forefront of activism and support on campus.


Messages from survivors of sexual violence are written on shirts hung on lines strung between trees.

"I love and support you. I am here 4 you"

"When I go jogging, I shouldn't have to run for my life"

"Remember it is not your fault. You are not alone. You are not bad."

The messages are strong, melancholy, vicious, hateful, scared, loving, longing, and inspiring. People from all walks of life can be harmed at any time, and as the shirts make clear, many don't fully recover. 


This post may seem more of a downer than most, but as I sit here I am acutely aware that the unspoken crimes happen everywhere--on our campus and on every campuses, as well as in the "real world." The message of these groups is one of support, but also one that suggests perhaps the debate is somewhat misguided. Perhaps, we should focus less on telling potential victims how to be more careful, and focus more on teaching potential victimizers that what they do causes irreparable harm. Instead of sending your child out at night with a whistle, you should send them out with the wisdom that no sexual crime is worth committing. 

HOLY SHIfT IS OUT!

If you are on campus in the next week or two, pick one up as see what St. Mike's students care about!

Volume 1, Issue 3

May Day Occupy @ St. Mike's?

"The 99% Spring is Coming"

It would seem that some stray Occupiers have taken to the rooftops (literally), decorating the windows of Alliot's dining hall with pro-Occupy writings. Most of them focused around the coming MAY DAY, which, according to many Occupy media outlets and websites is the day when the 99% are meant to go on strike.

The idea is that the 1% cannot function as a dominant economic force without the rest of America, so Occupy has called for a "General Strike" on May 1st. "No School, No Work, No Banking, No Shopping," reads another window. If, the logic goes, most people refused to go to work and school and similarly boycotted shopping and banking, transactions would slow or stop. This is of course not meant to harm the economy, but to show that the massive majority of people being harmed by economic struggle have the massive majority of the power in the economy, they just have to realize it.

No obvious night prowler has emerged as having done the soft-core window painting (it is clearly not spray paint, for those who may be worried), but many students are interested in economic justice, equality, and government regulation. Groups such as Democracy Matters, SLAM, and Peace & Justice have shown interest in such issues, whether they support the May Day General Strike or not.

I cannot of course encourage anyone to participate in May Day activities via the blog, but if you are interested in exploring the message, find the link to the May Day page HERE

HOLY SHIfT Preview!

We've worked overtime to get the third issue of HOLY SHIfT out before finals, and it looks like after much struggle, we've done it. This morning I gave the files to the printer, and he says it is possible the issues will be in by the end of the week! If you're on campus visiting, be sure to check it out!

Now, this third issue is special because it has an exclusive story about the Saint Michael's staff and their efforts to unionize, written by our very own Student Labor Action Movement. I won't reveal much more, but know that this issue has been a long time in the making, and has a variety of issues and interests covered. Get pumped!