Exhale Gallery will take your breath away

Emma Whiteford

Contributing Writer

For a multitude of reasons, those who have experienced sexual harassment or assault often remain silent and bury their pain within the chasm of their hearts, often suffocated by shame.

To change this narrative, junior Rachel Young and a group of student leaders are opening the door to healing by hosting the Exhale Gallery.

The gallery stands apart as a unique campus event where beauty and brokenness, boldness and vulnerability merge to open the door for Christ to come in and heal. Ezekiel 37:5 provides their anthem — “This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.”

Exhale features 10 live performers and includes seven campus organizations along with the campus counseling center and Mercer County AWARE, a domestic violence agency.

Last year, over 300 people walked through the gallery. This year, the event will echo the same themes as last year, but will remain open on Wednesday and Thursday so students who can’t attend on Tuesday evening can still observe the art.

The gallery is promised to house more pieces of art, including more work created by male artists and musical performances.

Young began to dream up the vision for Exhale Gal- lery after attending an event her freshman year where two girls shared their stories about overcoming sexual abuse. This event paved the way for healing and processing in her own life, and she began to pray about how to create a space for others to encounter the same restoration.

The idea of a gallery was born in the hopes to allow pain to produce beauty that will lead the way to hope. The gallery is for survivors and supporters alike. Whether you’ve been in the trenches of the pain of sexual abuse or not, you are encouraged to devote twenty minutes to walk through the gallery and be attentive to seeing, hear- ing and feeling the web of emotions.

“I would encourage all to come,” Young said.

“It’s easy for people who haven’t experienced sexual abuse not to come because they don’t think it’s for them. But these survivors are making poems and art to express some of the deepest pain in their lives. For someone to show up and pay attention to that is so meaningful and so important. Don’t shy away from the emotions that the gallery brings up. Be uncomfortable and be okay with that. Don’t let fear win; hold onto the beauty in it — the artistic expression brings light and healing to something really harmful.”

“Our hope in this gallery is to provide an opportunity for people to start healing and to finally be able to exhale for the first time in a while,” Young said.

Every Grove City College student is encouraged to peruse the gallery and CLP credit will be offered for those who attend. If you want to be a bigger part of the event, you can volunteer, submit art pieces or sign up to do a musical performance by contacting Young by this Sunday, March 19.

The gallery officially opens to campus on Tuesday, March 28 from 6:30-9:30 p.m. in the Great Room, located in the Breen Student Union.

Mi Degollado Mexican Restaurant in Charles Town, W.Va. It is a great family-owned restaurant that I heard about for the first time when I coached soccer one year and the owner’s son was on my team.

What kind of music do you listen to?

I would say that U2 is my all-time favorite group, and they are great live in concert. I enjoy Skillet and Red as well. Growing up in the 80s, I enjoy alternative music from the 80s along with classic rock from the 70s.

Do you have any interesting hobbies?

I really enjoy hiking and getting outside, as well as traveling with my family visiting National Parks and getting a chance to see the variety of God’s creation here in the United States. I also like working on building projects around the house and yard when I have the time to work on them.

What are you looking forward to today?

Over spring break, I am looking forward to getting a chance to work together with my wife Gwen and our kids Brynn, Keith Jr. and Mary to replace the shingles on the roof of an old garage that is on our property.

Why did you become a professor?

I really enjoy accounting and I see a great need for accountants that have integrity and can use the gifts the Lord has given them to help support and advance his kingdom. I want to play a part in encouraging and developing future leaders in accounting and related fields who can make a difference for the Lord, and the opportunity to return to Grove City College as an accounting professor was an opportunity to do just this.

A mission to serve

Inner Community Outreach trips travel across the country and beyond

Spring break sends another group of annual mission trips from one coast to another, each on their own journey to serve the Lord and the communities to which they are sent.

This spring, nine Inner Community Outreach (ICO) groups launched out of Grove City College. The groups went to: Aliquippa, Pa., Ashville, Pa., Buffalo, N.Y., Chattanooga, Tenn., Philadelphia, Pa., two Project Rural Ministry trips in Pennsylvania, Tucson, Ariz., and Guatemala.

ICO trips are not only wonderful opportunities to learn about diverse communities and to work alongside the people in them, but also to experience an intense week of drawing near to God and learning what he wants to teach you without any distractions.

There is nothing greater than serving the Lord in his beautiful creation in good fellowship. by Grace David, Photo Chief