Participants in the RIT Slutwalk, a march to end the shaming of victims of sexual assult, make their way from the Sun Dial to Kodak Quad Thursday, May 3.
Josh Barber

Slightly before noon Thursday, May 3, the normally quiet flow of students on the Quarter Mile was broken. About 40 students, both male and female, marched as part of the RIT Slutwalk, a demonstration against sexual assault victim shaming.

Waving signs proclaiming “My dress is not a ‘yes,’” and shouting chants such as “‘Yes’ means yes! ‘No’ means no!” the marchers grew in number as they moved from the Sundial to Kodak Quad. Here, several speakers — mostly women — addressed the crowd on the importance of taking blame off the victims of sexual assault, regardless of gender.

The RIT event follows the Toronto Slutwalk, the event that sparked the movement. According to its website, the Sunday, April 3, 2011 march was held in response to a comment of a Toronto police officer that “women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized.” Since the first event exploded out of the ensuing controversy, slutwalks have popped up in cities and on college campuses worldwide.

The call for an end to the shaming of rape victims was organized by the Center for Women and Gender’s Student Advisory Board. Meghan Castagno, a fourth year Psychology major, felt the event was an important visible action of people coming together. “It’s important to speak out to change the mindset of a culture,” she said.

All of the speakers emphasized that sexual assault can happen to anyone. Darci Lane- Williams, the director of the Center for Women and Gender, applauded all the men who turned up to participate, saying, “There is nothing sexier than an aware man!” Douglass Colon, a third year Finance major, said he attended the event because of the issue’s importance “especially here at RIT with women underrepresented here on campus.”

Though the term slutwalk has become a target for controversy, it is not an issue for the organizers. Denise Herrera, a staff interpreter and alumna, said that the overarching message of the movement was more important than its name. For Rauncie Ryan, an Academic Advisor in the College of Liberal Arts, the justification for such a shocking title is simple: “If we are not afraid of the word, it takes the power away.”