By Marrissa Ballard | Staff Writer
Unlike most students who leave their pillows in their dorms, Salve RA and Marketing major Daeshiana Howard carries hers at all times in solidarity with rape victim Emma Sulkowicz.
Sulkowicz is a student at Columbia University who was raped two years ago. Because there have been no repercussions for the rapist and Sulkowicz is forced to see him quite often, Sulkowicz began carrying a mattress with her at all times to symbolize the emotional, physical, and psychological burden that she carries with her after the rape. She has stated that she will continue to carry the mattress until her rapist is punished.
The movement here on campus, titled “Pillows for Emma,” was inspired by Howard’s twin sister, who started a similar movement on her own campus at Bucknell University. The purpose of the movement is to raise awareness not only for Sulkowicz’s situation but also about rape, rape culture, and sexual assault in general.
Howard explained that a pillow is a minor burden compared to a mattress, but she hopes to symbolize her connection to Sulkowicz’s situation. “I wanted to put myself in her shoes,” Howard explained.
According to Howard, people sometimes stop her and ask her why she is carrying a pillow. “I like when people stop and ask me about my pillow,” Howard said. “It gives me a chance to spread the message of this movement.”
There is no end-date to the event because Howard wants to continue spreading the message for as long as possible. Howard intends to carry her pillow as long as Sulkowicz’s rapist is still free and unpunished.
Howard also explained that she dislikes how schools will try to hide any sexual assault scandals in order to save their names. “When we ignore the issue or try to sweep it under the rug, it makes the victim feel shame, like they did something wrong,” Howard said.
As a Resident Advisor, Howard is hoping to mobilize her residents and make the movement a program for them to participate in. Howard’s residents are all female, so she believes it is especially important to get them involved.
Though Howard began the movement by herself and spread it through Facebook, Campus Life has stepped in to help her make posters to put around campus.
Howard also explained that Dr. Robin Hoffmann, a professor in Salve’s ADJ program, is hoping to put together a committee of both students and professors to talk about or deal with sexual assault. Stacey Veroni, Chief of the Criminal Division at the Rhode Island Attorney General’s office, has agreed to facilitate the forum. Malcolm Smith, Dean of Students, has also been involved in the creation of the committee and forum.
Currently six students serve on the Campus Sexual Assault Forum Committee. The committee hopes to have actors from the Theatre department come in to role play events so students can discuss how to react to them. The forum is going to take place on February 10th from 6 to 8 pm, according to Dr. Hoffmann.
