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The
The Boomerang | Summer 2021
Blackout Summer 2021
On the Sexual Assault Protest by Anonymous As you may have noticed, the topic of sexual forms on campus recently: a petition trying to change the complaints procedure at the UU, various conversations started by UCSA candidates during campaign season, UCU confessions, an email from our new dean, and most recently, a protest on the quad, organized by the Enactus board ‘Emperiod’. Within a day, messages of a protest on the quad were spread over various forms of social media, and hopes were raised for an impactful event, daring to open up the constructive conversation of sexual assault and its impacts on our campus and its inhabitants. I’m unsure what the main expectations were for those who intended to attend, but I doubt they much resembled the actual events that took place. Depending on the time of day protestors decided to attend, the general vibes seemed were met by a friend group of girls discussing some party, and only when they realized they had company, paused to explain the idea of pinning a ribbon to the sheet and writing either your name or a message to ‘the people who have been sexually assaulted’. Those who checked out the protest later in the day encountered a larger gathering, consisting mainly of frat boys and sorority girls watching as you were invited to pin either a blue ribbon (out of support) or purple ribbon (if you yourself have been a victim of sexual assault) to the now slightly more crowded sheet. Now, before I go into any further detail as to how this protest missed the mark for some students, especially those who have been impacted by sexual assault, I want to stress that I genuinely do not think this protest was organized with anything other than good intent. As I mentioned before, the organizers may have noticed the topic of sexual assault taking up more space in casual conversation than usual, period poverty and empowering those who experience periods, as per their Instagram, that they wanted to organize an event in which the topic was a focal point. As the events of the day unfolded, however, many aspects proved to be more harmful than helpful for those meant to feel empowered through the good will of the organizers. The question remains whether the events of that day, which lead to a lingering sense of unease for some protest attendees, could have been foreseen, if not prevented. For one, (un) intentionally choosing a mattress cover as the
focal point of your protest against sexual assault on campus is at best an unfortunate accident, at worst, an incredibly inappropriate and triggering statement. Regardless of the availability of a large surface of fabric in the days leading up to this, the weight attached to using and interacting with a part of a bed in this kind of protest should not be placed on anyone who participates. Previous protests against sexual assault that featured ered and thought-out in their impact, while also soliciting response and either way, meaning to have a lasting impact on attendees. Take for example Columbia alumna Emma Sulkowicz, who subjected herself to the weight of her dorm room mattress wherever she went on campus as an analogy to the weight she was forced to carry as a sexual assault victim. Was the choice to use the mattress cover at the Emperiod protest similarly intended to shock and impact students in tandem with the idea of ‘creating a safe space’ ? A safe space for exactly those students triggered by such a direct allusion to the event at the basis of their lasting trauma? Tracing this into the future, no student, regardless of their personal experiences with sexual assault, should have to be confronted with a mattress cover, loaded with this weight and connotations to sexual assault, study session in dining hall. There are other, safer ways in which the conversation can be kept going apart from the current plan of hanging it up in a public building, as an Emperiod member mentioned in a Facebook post on UCU students. Another important issue to discuss is the ribbons. No mention was made in any social media announcement before the protest that there would be blue ribbons for support and purple ribbons for actual victims. At the protest itself it was also not consistently mentioned. Imagine putting a purple ribbon next to your name while not being a sexual assault victim. The other way around is just as harmful, where a sexual assault victim puts down a blue ribbon, and perhaps later on feels guilty about not standing up to their assaulter, or alongside those meanings had been disclosed beforehand, what was the intention behind giving this choice in the outcomes of a scenario in which there are no bystanders, the real situation forced protestors to make a choice on what they felt comfortable disclosing to all of campus. As one can imagine,
this proved to be extremely triggering as a victim of sexual assault. After making their way through the onlooking crowd, protestors were met by a couple of frat guys, boasting about how they are in talks on ‘bettering themselves’ in becoming more ‘aware and informed’ on sexual assault. The fact that fraternities are taking steps in recognizing their responsibilities with regards to sexual assault is not a bad thing! However, some members publicly (and loudly) vocalizing this in what is supposed to be a safe place for victims, comes across more as saving face, and making a situation about you. It is a full 180 from some of them publicly socializing with and hugging known perpetrators, leaving doubts as to what their actual stance on assault on campus is. Do they understand how openly continuing to associate with known perpetrators of sexual assault sends message that they don’t care about them, and that they will continue to choose the perpetrator over them? Choosing the perpetrator over the victim has been a reoccurring trend also seen at College Hall, of course. This article is truly not intended as an anonymous attack towards the organizers of the protest (or fraternities, for that matter). The message I hope you take away from this is to carefully consider your decisions when organizing events such as this one. Ask yourself exactly why you want to get involved in topics like this. Educate yourself on the subject matter. Consider choices that may seem small and unimportant, as the impacts they may have on others can be much larger than you can predict. If they’re comfortable, speak to those for whom the topic has had a larger impact on their lives, if you haven’t could improve on your idea. Instead of taking the foreground in discussions such as these, maybe allow them more space on the platform you create for yourself, and let them say their bit to avoid your message getting lost in translation. Most importantly, set the necessary boundaries to make sure that those you’re organizing your event for do not feel unsafe, uncomfortable, or unwelcome. Lastly, set a clear goal to the event: if attendees know what you’re aiming to achieve, wondering whether this was a self-promotion event.
