You are not alone.
It’s a promise; a reminder for survivors of rape and abuse and the message behind the Monument Quilt, a crowd-sourced collection of the stories of thousands of survivors and public healing space that is traveling around the country to provide support, encourage dialogue and make a visible statement.
Ohio University will host the Monument Quilt on Friday, Oct. 13, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Peden Stadium. It will be the first time the quilt is displayed in its entirety in a university football stadium.
Written, stitched, and painted onto red fabric, the stories that make up the quilt are displayed in city and town centers to create and demand public space to heal. Over 1,000 squares will be displayed, filling Peden Stadium.
“The quilt will provide an opportunity for students and community members to come together and show support of persons affected by sexual assault,” said Kim Castor, LISW-S, director of the Survivor Advocacy Program at OHIO. “The quilt is not a singular representation of what survivorhood looks like; rather it is a display of the diverse experiences, including the ones that we may not always hear.”
The event is free and open to the public. Speakers will reflect during the quilt showing on Friday, Oct. 13 at 9 a.m., noon, 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. The organization behind the quilt, FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture, will also present a lecture entitled “A Guide to Upsetting Rape Culture” the night before on Thursday, Oct. 12, at 7 p.m. in Schoonover 145.
The tentative speaker schedule is as follows:
9 a.m.
M. Geneva Murray, Ph.D., director, Ohio University Women’s Center
Kim Castor, director, Survivor Advocacy Program
Jasmyn Pearl, Black Student Cultural Programming Board
Sara Trower, executive director, University Equity and Civil Rights Compliance
Monument Quilt representative
Noon
Athens Mayor Steve Patterson
Winsome Chunnu, Ph.D., strategic director for diversity and inclusion and multicultural programs and initiatives
Carmella Van Vleet, parent of Ohio University student survivor
Jason Pina, Ed.D., vice president for Student Affairs and interim chief diversity officer
Abbey Knupp, survivor and president of Ambassadors to Survivor Advocacy Program (ASAP) student organization
3:30 p.m.
Ohio University Police Chief Andrew Powers
Zamzam Jama, international student
delfin bautista, director, Ohio University LGBT Center
Ally Heyman, survivor
6:30 p.m.
Ohio University President M. Duane Nellis
Andrea Neutzling, survivor of military sexual trauma
Dan McDowell, survivor
Kristen Cuevas, survivor
MarQuelle Phillips, survivor
Jenny Hall-Jones, Ph.D., associate vice president for student affairs and dean of students
Mat Hall, assistant director of health promotion, looks forward to what the quilt will do for the University community.
“After attending the quilt showing, we hope viewers are impassioned to become active and empowered to create a culture where violence is not tolerated,” he said.
The program is sponsored by the Women’s Center; Multicultural Center; LGBT Center; BSCPB; Center for Law, Justice & Culture; Diversity Studies Certificate; Division of Student Affairs; Department of Social and Public Health; Department of Psychology; Political Science; United Campus Ministries; Cutler Scholars Program; Honors Tutorial College; Multicultural Faculty In-Residence; Ohio Athletics; Ambassadors to the Survivor Advocacy Program; College of Fine Arts; Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; and the Between Love and Hate Theme within College of Arts & Science.
“Our hope is that survivors on our campus and in our community feel empowered and supported through this experience,” Castor said.
The quilt is part of an effort to have ongoing, year-long conversations about sexual assault and prevention at Ohio University, culminating with Take Back the Night on Thursday, April 5, 2018.
If you would like to volunteer during the quilt showing, please fill out the volunteer application form at https://orgsync.com/130803/forms/268351.
In event of rain or inclement weather, the quilt display will be moved to the indoor tennis center on Ohio University’s Athens Campus. Select free, metered parking will be available on Oct. 13 near Peden Stadium (Lot 132), Walter Hall (Lot 134), and Ping (Lot 87) for visitors to The Monument Quilt.
For more information, please contact M. Geneva Murray, Ph.D., at the Women’s Center by calling 740-593-9625, visiting the Women’s Center’s website at https://www.ohio.edu/womenscenter/index.cfm, or emailing womenscenter@ohio.edu.
For more information about FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture, please visit their website: https://themonumentquilt.org.