[366]CLOTHESLINE PROJECT LAYS IT ON THE LINE—NO VIOLENCE!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 2, 2008EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

CLOTHESLINE PROJECT LAYS IT ON THE LINE—NO VIOLENCE!
Coupled with “Take Back the Night” Rally, Women Promote Importance of Safety

(MURFREESBORO) – To generate awareness of the ongoing problem of violence against women, the June Anderson Women’s Center will present the annual Clothesline Project April 14-17 and “Take Back the Night” on Tuesday, April 15, on the MTSU campus. “Each year, we have spread the word, but this year we want to spread the message to the entire campus that this is intolerable,” says Terri Johnson, director of the Women’s Center. To that end, informational literature not only will be available on the Keathley University Center (KUC) Knoll, but will be distributed to a variety of locations around campus. The Clothesline Project is a display of T-shirts decorated to symbolize fear, anger or other emotions associated with sexual assault. Participants may design T-shirts to symbolize fear, anger or other emotions associated with sexual assault. These T-shirts will be displayed Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the KUC Knoll. Officer David Smith, who instructs the Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) classes at MTSU, will be on hand, as well as instructors from Progressive Martial Arts, a local business that has conducted free self-defense classes on campus. “Take Back the Night,” which is slated for 6-9 p.m. on Tuesday, April 15, is an evening rally that will feature concerned members of the campus community and the community at large speaking their minds on the issue of violence against women during an open microphone segment. The rally will be followed by a brief march on campus and a candlelight vigil. In addition to “Take Back the Night” buttons, volunteers will provide coasters that can be used to test beverages for the presence of date rape drugs. These green, square coasters feature chemically-treated spots that will turn dark blue two minutes after being dampened by a drink that has been spiked with drugs, including gamma hydroxybutyrate (GHB) and Ketamine, that can render a person physically incapable of resisting assault. The coasters are co-sponsored by the President’s Commission on the Status of Women. The Clothesline Project and “Take Back the Night” are supported by Domestic Violence Program & Sexual Assault Services, the student organization Women in Action and various MTSU fraternities and sororities. For more information, contact the Women’s Center at 615-898-2193 or jawc@mtsu.edu.
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ATTENTION, MEDIA: For photos of the “Take Back the Night” button and the date rape drug testing coasters, contact Gina Logue in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.