Students defy university ban on protest
Kristi Tousignant
Issue date: 10/15/07 Section: News
The names of alleged sexual-abuse perpetrators were inscribed on seven student-designed T-shirts on Thursday to protest the University Health Center's ban of names in the annual Clothesline Project.
A group of dissenting students organized its own unsponsored event after the university banned students last week from writing the names of their alleged attackers onto the displayed clothing. The protesters' shirts hung from trees that overlooked the university-sanctioned sexual assault awareness area on Hornbake Mall.
"We believe that every survivor deserves a voice and should be able to express themselves however they want," said senior Maxine Norcross, a project organizer who joined the protest. "We're not going to change our stance on that and be intimidated by administration."
Health Center Director Sacared Bodison told students they could not display the seven shirts featured in the protest because the university feared the accused attackers could sue the university for defamation of character.
The protest also included 10 plain T-shirts that represented shirts banned by the Health Center because they featured an attacker's name. The students who created the shirts did not grant the protesters permission to display the actual shirts, said Miranda Vargas, a senior Women's Studies major.
The university-sanctioned project featured at least one shirt critical of the university's policy.
"UHC really dropped the ball," a shirt read.
Health Center officials said they had no problem with the students practicing their freedom of speech as long as the students' demonstration was kept separate from the university's project.
"Individual students can freely exercise their rights," Bodison said. "They would be personally responsible for any liability, but that is up to them. So they have freedom of choice."
Students said the threat of a lawsuit would not deter them.
"I'm not afraid at all," Vargas said. "My thinking on that is for someone whose name is written on the shirt, if they want to bring a lawsuit against us, they have to prove that they did not rape the women. That is not going to happen."
In the future, Norcross, a physiology and neurobiology major, hopes the university will incorporate the shirts with names into the original project. Organizers are now attempting to raise student support for a petition that calls for the university to change its policy.
If all else fails, Vargas insists the separate project will be held again next year.
"What was most important to me was getting the most voices heard," Vargas said. "The real tragedy is that we did not get to hang all the shirts. Women who hung shirts deserve to have their stories told."
tousignantdbk@gmail.com
A group of dissenting students organized its own unsponsored event after the university banned students last week from writing the names of their alleged attackers onto the displayed clothing. The protesters' shirts hung from trees that overlooked the university-sanctioned sexual assault awareness area on Hornbake Mall.
"We believe that every survivor deserves a voice and should be able to express themselves however they want," said senior Maxine Norcross, a project organizer who joined the protest. "We're not going to change our stance on that and be intimidated by administration."
Health Center Director Sacared Bodison told students they could not display the seven shirts featured in the protest because the university feared the accused attackers could sue the university for defamation of character.
The protest also included 10 plain T-shirts that represented shirts banned by the Health Center because they featured an attacker's name. The students who created the shirts did not grant the protesters permission to display the actual shirts, said Miranda Vargas, a senior Women's Studies major.
The university-sanctioned project featured at least one shirt critical of the university's policy.
"UHC really dropped the ball," a shirt read.
Health Center officials said they had no problem with the students practicing their freedom of speech as long as the students' demonstration was kept separate from the university's project.
"Individual students can freely exercise their rights," Bodison said. "They would be personally responsible for any liability, but that is up to them. So they have freedom of choice."
Students said the threat of a lawsuit would not deter them.
"I'm not afraid at all," Vargas said. "My thinking on that is for someone whose name is written on the shirt, if they want to bring a lawsuit against us, they have to prove that they did not rape the women. That is not going to happen."
In the future, Norcross, a physiology and neurobiology major, hopes the university will incorporate the shirts with names into the original project. Organizers are now attempting to raise student support for a petition that calls for the university to change its policy.
If all else fails, Vargas insists the separate project will be held again next year.
"What was most important to me was getting the most voices heard," Vargas said. "The real tragedy is that we did not get to hang all the shirts. Women who hung shirts deserve to have their stories told."
tousignantdbk@gmail.com
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Viewing Comments 1 - 6 of 7
james
posted 10/15/07 @ 2:37 AM EST
fact: the protesters did not "defy" the university, they held a separate protest that was unsupported by the university
fact: it is not a "real tragedy" that these women hung up shirts that did not indict someone of rape. (Continued…)
Terp
posted 10/15/07 @ 10:32 AM EST
Vargas is a little confused. The person whose name is mentioned on the shirt does not have to prove they did not rape the women....the person who wrote hte name has to prove that he DID, or else is is slander. (Continued…)
terp again
posted 10/15/07 @ 1:08 PM EST
I do not know what law you have studied, but the one here in the US assumes the statement is false, and the person making it has to prove it is true to escape liability. (Continued…)
Law Dawg
posted 10/15/07 @ 1:26 PM EST
Terp is right. Unlike most civil injuries, in defamation suits, the burden of proof lies with the defendant. In common law, a defamatory statement is presumed false unless the defendant (the one who made the statement in question) can prove its truth. (Continued…)
terp
posted 10/16/07 @ 10:03 AM EST
Thanks Law Dawg...at least some peopl are using some sense and not letting their emotions rule their actions.
Perhaps I should create an event where men who have been the victims of defamation can meet, voice their frustration, and then file claims against their KNOWN defamers. (Continued…)
rebecca m
posted 10/16/07 @ 11:25 AM EST
We can all easily agree that slander and defamation are wrong, and should be avoided.
But to keep things in perspective, the majority of women who are raped know their attacker personally, so there is little chance of mistaken identity. (Continued…)
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