AVONDALE, Arizona – In honor and recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Estrella Mountain Community College (EMCC) will host their annual Clothesline Project and Silent Witnesses Exhibit on October 10 – 19, 2012. Both events will be held on EMCC campus, located at 3000 North Dysart in Avondale, in the Ceremonial Plaza and are free and open to the public.
Dr. Olga Tsoudis, a Behavioral Sciences and Cultural Studies professor at EMCC and passionate social activist, is the catalyst behind these events. She has been bringing the Clothesline Project and Silent Witnesses Exhibit to EMCC for students, faculty and the community since 2006.
“Ending domestic violence should be everyone’s concern, not just those who have experienced or been affected by it,” said Tsoudis. “Through these exhibits, we can help educate our students and community about the issues that men, women and children of domestic violence suffer through every day.”
The Clothesline Project is an educational exhibit for and about people who have been affected, or know someone who has been affected, by domestic violence. T-shirts are used as a creative “canvas” to express or communicate the emotions of its creator, then hung on a clothesline to be viewed by others as testimony to the problem. EMCC started the Clothesline project in 2007 and has new shirts added to the exhibit every year.
A Clothesline Project Workshop will be held on Wednesday, October 10 from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. in the Plaza Gallery on the EMCC campus. The workshop gives participants a chance to create and add a t-shirt “message” to be displayed at the event. The community is invited to attend and participate.
“By creating a shirt, it allows silenced voices to be heard,” says Christina Fabian-Roman, a Domestic Violence Survivor Advocate who will be facilitating the workshop. She graduated from EMCC in 2006 and has since worked extensively to help end domestic violence.
The Silent Witnesses Exhibit provided by the Arizona Coalition Against Domestic Violence, includes life-sized, red silhouettes, each representing a person whose life ended violently as a result of domestic violence. Their story is attached to the cut-out so viewers can read and hopefully relate to their experience to build critical awareness to this worldwide problem.
Arizona Coalition Against Domestic Violence was formed in 1980 as a non-profit organization comprised of representatives from domestic violence programs and other concerned individuals and groups, to increase public awareness about the issue of domestic violence in Arizona families.
Tsoudis encourages students to be engaged and active in their community, and points out that social awareness of domestic violence doesn’t end when the month does. “Here at EMCC, we understand that in order to end domestic violence we must first be aware of the problem. By hosting this annual event, we hope to educate students, faculty and community of the issues and resources for solutions, and together, come one step closer to putting an end to the suffering.”
Estrella Mountain Community College offers transfer-ready academic courses and job-specific occupational training to approximately 15,000 students annually. The flagship campus is located on Thomas and Dysart Roads in Avondale and is home to the SouthWest Skill Center. The satellite campus, EMCC’s Buckeye Educational Center, is located in downtown Buckeye. Estrella Mountain is one of ten colleges in the Maricopa County Community College District, one of the largest community college districts in the nation, and celebrating 50 years. www.estrellamountain.edu or www.maricopa.edu .