Leah Mulroney / Equinox Staff: Students dress expressively for justice in rape culture. This event was sponsored and organized by the Keene Feminist Collective.
Appian Way saw more commotion this past Thursday evening than over the course of an entire school year.
Keene State College hosted a SlutWalk on campus.
The walk began on the student center lawn and wrapped its way around the quad by Huntress, past Morrison/Parker Hall, and back around.
The SlutWalk is an international movement sparked by a comment made by a Toronto police officer on January 24, 2011: that women should avoid dressing “like sluts” to prevent rape, according to the SlutWalk Toronto website.
KSC students dress as provocatively or as modestly as they like for the 2013 SlutWalk on Appian Way.
Although the walk was short in length, the noise most definitely caused bystanders to turn their heads and try to figure out what was going on.
KSC students rallied around campus with signs, posters and provocative clothing as a way to protest against the rape and sexual assault judgments against how females dress.
Playing an important role in the event was KSC junior, Hersch Rothmel.
As a Women and Gender Studies major, he helped organize the event with the Keene Feminist Collective and initiated many of the chants during the walk.
Rothmel described what he hoped the SlutWalk would bring to light.
He said, “It’s this whole idea that ‘slutty’ clothes or provocative clothes cause rape. Drinking doesn’t cause rape, being in the wrong time at the wrong place doesn’t cause rape, rapists cause rape,” Rothmel said.
As nearly a hundred students marched in solidarity along campus chanting things such as “We’re not sluts, we’re not sluts!” many bystanders seemed confused at first.
Caught off guard by the event was freshman Andrew Schlecht. He sat back on a bench and observed. “I just kind of stopped to see what was going on. I think what they’re doing is for a good cause,” Schlecht said.
Although rape and sexual assault is a worldwide issue, its role on college campuses is very prevalent. Rothmel is a firm believer of this notion right here on campus.
“This is basically a proactive measure of saying ‘instead of reacting to women or men getting raped, let’s stand up and say that rape is wrong and rape culture is wrong,’” he said.
As the walk wrapped up and the group gathered back on the student center lawn, there was a common hype among all participants buzzing about the feeling of empowerment they experienced.
A participator of the event, KSC sophomore Lucy Briggs shared her emotions once the walk had concluded.
“It was amazing. Exhilarating [feeling] being able to get out there and really try to break this. Especially on a Thursday night when you know people are going to be going out, it’s not the safest time,” Briggs said.
Commonly referred to as “Thirsty Thursday” by many KSC students, Thursday nights are stereotypically known as a night where many students are exhausted from the school week and want to get an early start on the weekend.
The fact that this event took place on a Thursday night was important to some because it was right before people are getting ready to go out, where an encounter of sexual assault is possible.
Also following the event, KSC senior Julia Rasku explained her take on the event and the impact she believes it will have.
“Based on the number of video recordings I saw when we were walking around, I’m assuming that video is going to spread over the internet, at least around here. So I think even though there are a bunch of people who didn’t actually walk with us or see the walk, they’ll end up seeing it online. So I think it’ll have more of a lasting impact in the sense that it’ll reach more people. In terms of really breaking the mentality and rape culture itself, steps are steps,” Rasku said.
“We are definitely going in the right direction to have 150 people here doing this so I feel like it is good,” Rasku continued.
Students hold signs and protest the right to dress however they choose and be respected for it.
This walk pushed for the idea of allowing women to be comfortable in whatever it may be that they want to wear. It was also an attempt to eliminate any fears regarding sexual assault and help make KSC a safer living environment.
“I really hope this is a way for the girls around campus to be empowered and be like ‘this is a place that I can speak out against sexual assault and violence without having the fear of being persecuted’,” Rothmel said.
It is not recent, and it is believed by many that it is something with enough severity to require a walk of protest. Rothmel shared, “It all sits in this big rape culture pot that’s been brewing for generations. It’s also going against the whole idea that people in general should be categorized,”
He continued, “So it’s also about loving your body and this isn’t an invitation for rape. Unless I say I want sex there’s no reason why you should assume I want sex.”
Sabrina Lapointe can be contacted at
slapointe@keene-equinox.com