In honor of April being Sexual Assault Awareness month, The Clothesline Project and Northwest Center Against Sexual Assault (CASA) held an event in Avanté concourse (XYZ) from 11 AM to 1 PM. The event helped shine a light on Sexual Assault Awareness and the resources Harper offers.

The Clothesline Project, which is held annually at Harper College, is a national visual display that gives voice to the survivors of sexual violence through hand-decorated T-shirts. Each shirt displays a personal story filled out by survivors. For the survivors, the shirts are filled with messages of pain, others with defiance, and anger. At this event, Northwest CASA brought with them the shirts that were hung silently in rows, forming a pathway of voices that were begging to be heard.

One of the T-shirts pinned to a line in Harper College’s Avante center on Tuesday read, “And now you’re dying, Dad and I couldn’t give a shit.” Alongside other shirts, the message showed similar sentiments.

The event itself was hosted by Northwest CASA, with the support of Harper Wellness as well as Harper Counseling Services. The event created a powerful atmosphere of remembrance, awareness, and solidarity. CASA had its own table in the center with an assortment of stickers, pens, notebooks, and keychains, alongside three representatives providing information and resources. Harper College counselors were there to provide their services for anyone who needed them.

CASA’s table featured pins, keychains, notebooks, pens, stickers, as well as digital resources like QR codes and representatives ready to talk to students.

Maritza Carvajal, Director of Advocacy Services and SART (Sexual Assault Response Team) Coordinator at CASA, described the impact.

“Walking through the display is emotional, [it] gives voice to the pain, strength, and resilience of survivors,” Carvajal said. “There are T-shirts with powerful messages like ‘I am a survivor’, ‘It wasn’t my fault ’, and ‘You will not silence me.’”

Student Artie Morris, who attended the event, said the visual display left a lasting impression on them.

“Honestly, seeing all the shirts hung up with messages from survivors—it hits hard. You can feel the pain, but also the strength in every piece. It’s eye-opening. I think a lot of times people assume stuff like this doesn’t happen in their community, but this event shows that it does. It’s real. It’s close to home.”

For support, Harper College and CASA are here for you.