On Monday and Tuesday of this week, you might have noticed people walking around with white paper masks. What for, you ask? These individuals took part in an awareness campaign to draw attention to a disturbing statistic on campus and in this country.
“Ask ‘Why the Mask?’” is about disrupting rape culture on Winona State’s campus. The event is to bring awareness to the fact that 1 in 5 students report they have experienced unwanted sexual contact while at WSU (Campus Climate Survey 2015, 2016). By handing out masks to 1,600 students, we are representing the 1 in 5 students out of the 8,000 we have on campus. We are also asking students and faculty to pledge to stand up and support and believe survivors on campus.
On Monday, Nov. 28 we started with a table in the library atrium from 10am – 4pm handing out free hot chocolate and buttons promoting our message about disrupting rape culture. We gave students the opportunity to sign our pledge and get their photo taken for the Facebook page.
On Tuesday, Nov. 29, we continued the table in the atrium at 10am, and in the evening we hosted a group photo and rally at 4pm To end the event, we had a Survivor Panel in the Student Activity Center at 4:30pm The panel included 5 survivors of sexual assault who shared their stories and experiences.
The panel was very powerful, and put real stories and faces to the 1 in 5 statistic. Each survivor shared their story, their after experiences, and their self-care methods.
As a non-survivor ally, I think it was an eye-opening experience. I listened to survivors and their stories, and learned how to be a better ally by listening, believing, and supporting survivors. We need to call out rape culture as we see it in our day-to-day lives and stand behind survivors.
The goal of “Ask ‘Why the Mask?” was to disrupt rape culture on campus and to bring awareness that we are a 1 in 5 campus, which is also the national statistic. We had support from many students and faculty who wore masks and buttons around campus either on or pinned to their backpacks, including President Olson. The widespread support is key to disrupting rape culture, and not all campuses have the support of their Presidents. This shows that WSU is a leader in the movement to address the problem of sexual violence on campus.
This awareness campaign is receiving attention, as a University of Minnesota Twin Cities student wants to bring “Ask ‘Why the Mask?’” to their campus in April for Sexual Assault Awareness Month and Professor Tamara Berg was contacted by the University of Missouri about doing the campaign on their campus as well.
It is important to stand up and believe those who have been sexually assaulted and by pledging to this we can work to end rape culture at WSU and on other campuses.
-Michaela Gaffke
