Messages of hope, healing and awareness will be on display as MTSU presents The Clothesline Project Monday, April 9, through Thursday, April 12, in observance of National Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

The annual visual display, set from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Student Union’s first-floor atrium, consists of T-shirts emblazoned with the words of a survivor or someone who cares about her. It is free and open to the public.

MTSU students stop by the Student Union atrium April 9 to write messages on T-shirts as part of the university’s participation in The Clothesline Project, an annual nationwide project to combat sexual assault. MTSU students can stop by the atrium from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. through April 12. (MTSU photo by Jimmy Hart)

A nongovernmental organization formed in Hyannis, Massachusetts, in 1990, The Clothesline Project’s mission is to:

• bear witness to survivors and victims;
• help with the healing process for people who have lost a loved one to or who are survivors of violence;
• educate, document and raise society’s awareness of the extent of the problem of violence against women; and
• provide a nationwide network of support, encouragement and information for other communities starting their own Clothesline Projects.

According to a 2011 report by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, an estimated 19.3 percent of women and about 1.7 percent of men have been raped during their lifetimes. An estimated 43.9 percent of women and 23.4 percent of men have experienced other forms of sexual violence.

The Clothesline Project is sponsored by the June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students, the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership, Ladies for a Change, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and Collegiate 100 Interns.

For more information, contact JAC Director Barbara Scales at 615-898-5812 or barbara.scales@mtsu.edu.

— Gina Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)

MTSU students stop by the Student Union atrium April 9 to write messages on T-shirts as part of the university’s participation in The Clothesline Project, an annual nationwide project to combat sexual assault. MTSU students can stop by the atrium from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. through April 12. (MTSU photo by Jimmy Hart)