YOU ARE HER - finale
Before her death, Molly Jane was someone who spoke out about sexual violence. She was deeply disturbed by the Brock Turner case and the unusually light sentence he received for raping a student at Stanford. She also was very troubled about the epidemic of sexual assault on Baylor’s campus and the apparent cover up by university officials and coaches. Molly was not afraid to speak her mind and was especially willing to lend her voice to those who needed it most. It is this trait about Molly that makes Project Beloved such a natural response to her rape and murder.
This past Saturday, I had the privilege of participating in the culminating performance of YOU ARE HER, an art exhibit hosted by Fort Worth Contemporary Arts at TCU. The artist, Alicia Eggert, uses traffic signs to communicate the reality of the incidence of sexual assault on college campuses. According to RAINN, 23% of females will or have experienced sexual assault while in college. That is almost 1 in 4 females….a staggering statistic. Sexual assault does not discriminate and impacts all races, genders, sexual orientation, socio economic class…EVERYONE. Hence the title…YOU ARE HER.
The performance is not what you might expect. It is not a protest. It is not in your face, rather it is quite subtle. We simply stood with a triangular shaped sign, adorned with an exclamation mark, in front of our faces. We stood silently in 10 minute increments around TCU’s campus. It was family weekend and also game day, so there were quite a lot of people milling around on a Saturday afternoon.
As I stood, I spent a lot of time reflecting and remembering. It was quite amazing how quickly 10 minutes can pass. I was proud to stand on behalf of those who have experienced the trauma of sexual violence. I heard some horns honk, and I heard some people yell in our direction. No doubt passers by were confused as to what was happening and why. There were flyers to share with those who had questions. It is my hope that those who took the time to read or talk to one of the performers will reflect on what they can do to become a part of changing the conversation about sexual assault. It is going to take all of us. Not simply females and not simply males. Every. Single. One. Of. Us.
Should you have any interest in bringing YOU ARE HER to a college campus near you, and I hope you do, please contact me via email. I will connect you with the artist. info@projectbeloved.org
