More 70 colored T-shirts were displayed on the South Quad on clotheslines to help bring awareness to victims of sexual and physical abuse Wednesday.

The T-shirts are part of the Clotheslines Project sponsored by the Gender Diversity Coalition where victims of abuse or friends of survivors decorated the T-shirts.

Students walking by the display had mixed reactions about the T-shirts that represented victims of sexual and physical abuse.

Jackie Zavislak, a freshman special education major, said she read the T-shirts, and thought the shirts were really cool and interesting.

Zavislak said she was passing through the South Quad to work and did not really have time to look at the shirts in detail, though.

Keon Licorish, a senior finance major, said he saw the T-shirts and did not think anything of them.

When he was told that victims and friends of victims of abuse on campus made the T-shirts, Licorish said he was surprised there are so many victims of abuse on campus.

“It changed my whole perspective,” Licorish said.

Licorish said he did not realize the T-shirts had so much meaning.

Demetra Sepsakos, a sophomore early child education major, said the T-shirts were pretty cool and different.

Sepsakos said she walked by the T-shirts on her way to work, and was not sure what they were for, though she said she knew they were about violence against women because of the “Stop the Violence” signs by the display.

Rob Flores, a senior business major, said he did not know what the T-shirts were for, and he said he did not see many people looking at them.

“The event should have been advertised,” Flores said.

Matt McPherson, a senior business major, said he saw the T-shirts during his lunch break, and was not sure what they were for either.

The coalition organized the Clothes Line project for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and this is the first time the project has been offered on Eastern’s campus.

Each color of T-shirt represented a different type of abuse.

White represented women who died because of violence, yellow/beige represented women who were battered or assaulted, red/pink/orange represented women who are survivors of rape and sexual assault, blue/green represented survivors of incest and sexual abuse, purple/lavender represented women attacked because of their sexual orientation and black represents women attacked for political reasons.

The coalition said it hopes to make the project an annual event.

Elizabeth Edwards can be reached at 581-2812 or eaewards@eiu.edu.

Jersey Milano, a freshman elementary education major, examines the shirts for the Clothesline Project on the North Quad. The Clothesline Project was put on by the Gender Coalition.(Sara Hall

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