Arbor Update

Ann Arbor Area Community News

SAPAC Responds to Banner Controversy

26. October 2004 • Brandon
Email this article

A letter in today’s Michigan Daily responds to the recent controversy surrounding a SAPAC banner advertising tonight’s Speak Out event (7-9 pm, Union Ballroom):

On behalf of the Networking, Publicity, and Activism student group working with the Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center at this university, I would like to extend our apologies to all who were offended by our banner, located previously in the Diag, advertising our upcoming event “Speak Out.” It is important to both myself and the volunteers who are committed to the NPA program that the University at large understands that the depiction of the silhouette on the banner was not intended to be viewed as a caricature of the African and black community. Speak Out is a safe forum for survivors of sexual violence to talk about their experiences either openly or anonymously. The black silhouette on the banner was to represent a person of an unknown background as well as to represent a survivor in the shadows of silence. The red lips were to symbolize the power a survivor has when speaking out against sexual violence. In addition, the colors of black and red are also synonymous with the Silent Witness Exhibit, which uses silhouettes of domestic violence victims to show both the fact that domestic violence can happen to anybody and that we often are unaware of who experiences these crimes. The concerns raised by the community will be remembered next year.

Jessica Carver

Lindsay Jolley

The letter writers are LSA seniors and co-coordinators for the Networking, Publicity and Activism program at SAPAC