EDWARDSVILLE - Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s University Housing will participate in Denim Day at 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, April 25 at the Cougar Statue in front of the Morris University Center.
The Denim Day campaign, coordinated by Peace Over Violence, has been taking place for the past 19 years and is held in honor of Sexual Violence Awareness Month.
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The Denim Day campaign was originally triggered by an Italian Supreme Court ruling, where a rape conviction was overturned. Justices believed that because the victim was wearing tight jeans, she must have helped her rapist remove them, thereby implying consent. The following day, women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim.
Peace Over Violence developed Denim Day in response to this case, and the activism surrounding it. Since then, wearing jeans on Denim Day has become a symbol of protest against erroneous and destructive attitudes about sexual assault.
In this rape prevention education campaign, community members, elected officials, businesses and students are asked to make a social statement by wearing jeans on this day as a visible means of protest agaiastegal@siue.edunst the misconceptions that surround sexual assault.
Those wishing to support University Housing’s efforts should wear denim and meet at the Cougar Statue for a group photo. Denim Day stickers and awareness ribbons will be available at the front desks of the residence halls and Cougar Village Commons.
For more information on University Housing’s involvement in Denim Day, please contact Cougar Village 400 Community Director Ashley Stegall at 650-2965 or astegal@siue.edu.
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville provides students with a high quality, affordable education that prepares them for successful careers and lives of purpose to shape a changing world. Built on the foundation of a broad-based liberal education, and enhanced by hands-on research and real-world experiences, the academic preparation SIUE students receive equips them to thrive in the global marketplace and make our communities better places to live. Situated on 2,660 acres of beautiful woodland atop the bluffs overlooking the natural beauty of the Mississippi River’s rich bottomland and only a short drive from downtown St. Louis, the SIUE campus is home to a diverse student body of nearly 14,000.
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