Photo courtesy of Creative Commons.
Hofstra’s chapter of It’s On Us spent last week tabling in the Student Center with blank quilt squares that students could use to write messages of support for survivors of sexual assault.
All the quilt squares will be put together and displayed somewhere visible to the student body, according to Manni Doan, a sophomore mathematical business economics major who helped with tabling.
Any student who wanted to contribute to the quilt could walk up to the table and write a note of support on a little red square. It was then added to an ever-growing pile waiting to be sewn together. The messages on the quilts all had a common theme of encouragement.
Alisha Riggs, a first year psychology major and a member of It’s On Us, said the messages on the quilt included “Stay positive, be happy [and] stay strong.”
As of Friday, the committee members tabling were not sure just how many squares would be part of the quilt.
“The idea for the quilt squares came about from a project called ‘The Monument Quilt,’ which is a display of quilt squares with stories from survivors of sexual violence,” said Allison Vernace, Hofstra’s Title IX officer for Student Issues. “The quilt provides a public healing space and also shows the impact of sexual violence in our communities.”
All quilts made as part of The Monument Quilt project have red squares. According to The Monument Quilt’s website, “… our stories are displayed in city and town centers to create and demand public space to heal.
The Monument Quilt resists the popular and narrow narrative of how sexual violence occurs by telling many stories, not one.”
Making the quilt was part of Hofstra’s It’s On Us Week of Action. Throughout the month of April, there will be more programming and meetings on campus in honor of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Hofstra’s It’s On Us committee is part of a nationwide movement that is trying to increase awareness of sexual assault and find solutions to end it and help victims.
“It’s On Us has helped to bring proactive educational programming around sexual misconduct and intimate partner violence,” Vernace said.
“A lot of people are sexual assault survivors, but they realize that they don’t have a resource to go to, so this advertises a lot of resources,” Doan said. “Through this organization, we can connect people to what they need.”
