Friday, April 28, 2023
Photos by Kimberlee R. Rusczyk, digital marketing manager, as well as campus offices
Melinda L. Furman (left) and Betty Anne Leiby, simulation laboratory coordinators, nursing education, sign quilt patches.
Among the activities organized by the Office of Student Engagement, in conjunction with April's designation as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, were a Love Labyrinth Workshop that explored how emotionally abusive behaviors can make someone feel trapped in a relationship; AIDS resource information tables; and a free webinar about the effects of assault on survivors.
There were also opportunities to express kinship with survivors and rejection of "victim-blaming" through adding a square to the Denim Day Quilt and by writing to survivors that they are supported, believed and loved. The quilt is an ongoing project, while the letters were collected into a book and donated to the Williamsport YWCA's Wise Options floor.
The blue-jeaned staff of Penn College's Office of People & Culture was just one of the employee groups openly showing their solidarity.
Denim Day originated with opposition to a 1992 Italian Supreme Court decision that overturned a rape defendant's conviction. Because the victim’s jeans were so tight, the justices determined, she must have helped remove them in order for the rape to occur. That, the court ruled, implied consent. Women in the Italian Parliament protested by wearing jeans on the steps of the Supreme Court, attracting international attention and widespread disavowal of the notion that survivors are accountable for the violence perpetrated against them.
The "Survivor Love Letters" activity invites interpersonal expression.
Adding their collective strength to the day's display of empathy and empowerment are co-workers from the Center for Career Design.
A total of 20 quilt pieces were added in a continuing project adapted by Calli R. Eckels, wellness education coordinator.
Squares will be added to the Denim Day Quilt in future years; the letters were bound and will be shared with a local shelter for survivors of domestic and sexual violence.
Admissions employees gather on the staircase outside their offices.
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