2022 LSU Gumbo - Book - Page 119
Creating a space in which dialogue is encouraged and
participants are free from victim-blaming, “What I Wore”
is a new exhibit on campus that seeks to give survivors of
sexual assault a place to express themselves openly and
raise awareness.
The exhibit, open in the Student Union Art Gallery on
the second floor of the LSU Library until April 29, has been
in the works since December. The pandemic stalled its
official launch to earlier this month, which is Sexual Assault
Awareness Month. Women’s Center Director Summer Steib
collaborated on the exhibit with the Lighthouse Program to
teach about the widespread impact of sexual violence.
“We always knew we wanted to revisit this,” Steib said.
“We felt this was something really powerful and that it
was an opportunity for our campus community to engage
in meaningful, challenging and change-worthy dialogue
around sexual violence and how it impacts all of us.”
The Lighthouse Program sent solicitations to the
Baton Rouge community at large, allowing anyone to
anonymously submit a description of the clothes they wore
at the time of their abuse, assault, or rape. The exhibit
features a total of 16 submissions.
In addition to showcasing the clothes of survivors, the
exhibit also features the Women’s Center Clothesline
Project, a sign from the student-lead interactive
performance “Resilient Body” and other interactive
opportunities for students to come and learn about sexual
assault.
“We really want people to be reflective about how this
impacted them, what changes they’re willing to make and
maybe how this challenged a belief that they had about
sexual violence,” Steib said.
Steib hopes that during people’s viewings of the exhibit,
they see how sexual assault is not an issue of the past. It is
ever-present, especially on LSU’s campus.
“I think each and every one of us plays a part in
upholding rape culture in some way,” she said. “A lot of
people think of these as issues that don’t impact them if
they’re not personally a survivor or if they don’t know one. I
think that the thing that’s really powerful for me is that the
majority of the outfits, whenever you look at them, you can
go home and you could find the same exact outfit in your
closet.”
In addition to exploring the commonality and
community of survivors, the exhibit also highlights the
intersectional nature of sexual assault, which was stressed
by Lighthouse Program Coordinator Victoria Polk.
“I think this exhibit especially has shed a light on
different ages and genders who tend to be affected, either
directly or indirectly, by sexual violence and assault,” Polk
said. “We want to highlight the fact that we can tend to
believe that a certain group tends to experience this type
of violence. Really, it is anybody who can be a victim and
survivor.”
Kinesiology and Spanish senior Paola Colmenares said
she stayed in the exhibit for about 30 minutes, reading the
story of each victim and staring at the street clothes hung
on display. To her, the most poignant outfit on display was a
boy’s summer camp uniform.
“I thought the exhibit was really gut-wrenching,”
Colmenares said. “It just goes to show you the range of
situations that these people were in.”
Colmenares believes there is a stigma against sexual
assault survivors and that there still exists a lot of blame for
survivors based on what they wear. She said what makes the
exhibit so powerful is how much it invalidates this belief.
“It just made me feel really sad to read about this
person whose innocence was stripped away from them,”
Colmenares said. “It just really put things into perspective
that this could happen to anyone, anywhere, no matter
what they’re wearing.”
Deputy Title IX Coordinator for Training and
Prevention, Miranda Brown, was present at the launch of
the exhibit and spoke about her future plans and initiatives
to help create more intersectional conversation on campus
about sexual assault.
“The Women’s Center has been a huge help,” said Brown.
“Summer Steib and I work really well together, and we’ve
worked on serval projects together at this point.”
Sexual assault awareness has been at the forefront of
LSU’s controversies since November 2020, when USA
Today published an investigative report exposing the
university’s widespread mishandling of sexual assault cases
within the Title IX Office and LSU Athletics.
Since then, a 148-page investigation by law firm Husch
Blackwell has been released, which included a list of 18
recommendations for the University to restructure its
Title IX investigations. Only one has not been officially
completed, though it is scheduled to be finished next
spring.
By increasing awareness on campus for sexual assault,
educating the campus population on consent, and
showcasing the intersectionality of the issue, organizations
like the Women’s Center and The Lighthouse Program are
helping to create a safer LSU.
“What I Wore” is just one of the steps this campus is
taking on a grassroots level to create awareness.
“We know survivors are going to come to the exhibit,”
Steib said. “There were survivors who had pieces displayed
on the wall that were here for the opening. We just hope
that they see themselves reflected and that they see they’re
not alone. Others have had similar experiences and what
happened to them didn’t happen in isolation.”
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