Students dressed in “slutty” clothing and rain boots marched through campus Thursday afternoon to protest against victim-blaming language and acts of sexual violence.
Sponsored by The Movement and the Women’s Center, NC State’s first-ever large-scale SlutWalk drew more than 250 participants despite the rain and a last-minute venue change.
The event, which was initially set to be held on Stafford Commons, was moved indoors to the State Ballroom inside Talley Student Union.
“I think we would have gotten some more people if we had had the event outside as planned,” said Maggie Schroder, the SlutWalk’s planning committee president and a sophomore studying social work. “Overall, I couldn’t be more happy with how it turned out.”
Thursday’s event began with a performance from members of the Arts Village and spoken word from NC State students and alumni. Both performances aimed to call attention to rape culture, sexual harassment and body shaming.
“The thing that has really made the SlutWalk for me is the number of [sexual violence] survivors coming forward to thank us and tell us how the event has helped them feel more comfortable talking about their situations,” said Melenni Balbach, a member of The Movement and a sophomore studying women’s and gender studies.
Representatives from The Movement, SAGE, the GLBT Center and P.L.E.A.S.E. set up tables at the event to provide students with information regarding safe sex, common myths surrounding sexual assault and the resources available to survivors of sexual violence.
The Movement also had a booth set up where students could take the opportunity to write down offensive words others had used to describe them, such as slut, hoe or skank, and then physically throw them in the trash.
“We are here to tell you that all of you are complete just the way you are. You are not a slut, a shank or a hoe because you chose to be a sexual being, nor are you a prude because you chose to abstain from sex,” said Sara Forcella, the rape prevention education coordinator of the Women’s Center. “You are only the words you choose to define yourself as. We must create a culture which rejects sexual assault and victim-blaming, and stand together as a Pack.”
Forcella attributes SlutWalk’s success to the “extremely passionate” students who took the time to organize the event.
Rebeka Galeano, a junior studying genetics, hopes the SlutWalk will become an annual event at NC State.
“I think this event has been great,” Galeano said. “I didn’t expect this many people to actually take the initiative to come out, but I think it shows how many people on campus care about this.”
Participants of the SlutWalk charge across campus with posters aiming to stop victim blaming during rape cases Thursday. The walk started at Talley Student Union and proceeded across campus and along Hillsborough Street.
