By Kate Drexel | Managing Editor
Salve students gathered together Thursday, April 10 to join in protesting against rape culture, known as the SlutWalk. This is the event’s first year on campus as part of a Capstone class. The students who participated dressed provocatively and wrote messages on their bodies such as “Still Not Asking For It.”
“SlutWalk, internationally, was started in Toronto in 2011,” Jan Jackson, organizer and “Head Slut In Charge” of the SlutWalk, said. “It began because a Toronto police chief told a bunch of college girls that basically if they didn’t dress like sluts, that was one way to prevent being raped or sexually assaulted. It basically started because of that, but also to take back the word, similar to how the gay movement took back the word ‘queer’, so now they kind of use the word ‘queer’ to describe themselves.
“So, basically, SlutWalk was continuation of the same idea, like trying to take the word back, and be like, ‘Well, if you want to call us ‘sluts’, then we’ll call ourselves sluts and it won’t be that big of a deal anymore’. I think that was one of the primary purposes of the name, but also obviously as with any movement to call attention and kind of have that shock and awe value.”
The students congregated in the rose garden between McAuley and O’Hare with their colorful and empowering posters. They handed out “I heart Sluts” bracelets to students coming out from their afternoon classes in hopes to spread the word about the protest. The march started from the O’Hare sidewalk going toward Miley and then the library, ending at the beginning of the walk where Jan and the Dean of Students, J. Malcolm Smith, gave an empowering speech about the Walk.
“I thought that the SlutWalk was a great opportunity to get involved on campus and stand up for something that needs to be brought to people’s attention,” said Shannon Salome (’15). “The outcome was incredible, and I was proud to be a part of it.”
However, not all students were thrilled about the movement taking place. A third-year student wrote to Dr. Anthony LoPresti directly, giving his reason for objection, stating that it goes against the purpose of the movement. “Rape is an important issue, and for the duly motivated, open-minded, and critically-thinking student there exists an opportunity to re-affirm the irrefutable logic of Catholic doctrine with regard to sexual activity whilst simultaneously engaging in an important secular discussion regarding issues of consent.
“The SlutWalk ‘movement’ does neither, thus, the attempt to appropriate an inappropriate and inapplicable protest to Salve is merely an act of ‘slacktivism.’ I respectfully request that you instruct the student(s) concerned to call off the slut walk or, at the very least, withdraw your support of the project and report any unauthorized continuance of the effort to the appropriate authorities.” After receiving this message, the students who played a major part in the movement acknowledged the student’s concerns and he shared his appreciation with LoPresti.
The SlutWalk continues to be a big part of society and, in hopes that this will become a yearly event on campus, the students do whatever they can to spread the word. For more information on the movement, visit the website of the place where it first began, Toronto (http://www.slutwalktoronto.com), or the Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/SlutWalk).
