Wednesday evening, a group from The Movement and The Women’s Center sponsored the PostSecret Event in Caldwell Lounge. PostSecret is a nationwide project that was started by Frank Warren.
Kelsey Lambdin, a senior in women’s and gender studies, is a member of The Movement and was the Sexual Assault Awareness Month coordinator.
Lambdin said, “When I became the Sexual Assault Awareness Month coordinator, I realized this was an event I really wanted to start. I feel like it is really important for campus, so that people that have secrets can share them without fear of being judged.”
This is the first year that The Movement and The Women’s Center have sponsored this event, but they are planning to make this an annual event. The Movement is a group that is sponsored through the Women’s Center, as they have similar goals.
“This is something we think that campus needs, and with time it will grow. We’re planning to hold this event yearly, as our major event for Sexual Assault Awareness Month,” Lambdin said.
Members of The Movement, like Christina Scarano, a senior in criminology with a minor in women’s and gender studies, said that there was a great response from campus.
“We had a great response from campus. Considering this was our first year, we got between fifty and sixty secrets and ten sexual assault secrets,” Scarano said.
PostSecret at N.C. State wanted any secrets that people would share, just like PostSecret that Frank Warren started. The secrets about sexual assault were highlighted since April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Scarano said, “The flyers that we sent out said we wanted any secret. We expected and were thrilled to receive all types of secrets.”
The sexual assault secrets were highlighted on the Sexual Assault Awareness Wall. These were stories of sexual assault and rape. The Movement also highlighted some statistics about sexual assault and rape in college. One out of every four women will be a victim of rape or an attempted rape by the time they graduate college.
“The sexual assault display was an important part of this event. Rape and sexual assault are more prevalent on campus than most people realize,” Lambdin said.
The secrets ranged from the loss of a parent to being a Carolina fan to still being in love with an abuser to a fear of losing a brother who is in the Marines.
“The secrets are great for campus to see. So many people are judged for being different, but we hope that this will show that people experience the same thing,” Lambdin said.
The Movement is a group of trained men and women who have workshops on campus to promote awareness about sexual assault, domestic violence and rape.
“We hold workshops on campus to talk about healthy relationships and what to do about unhealthy relationships and why some people stay in those bad relationships,” Scarano said.
