“What Were You Wearing?”

MSU’s Students Against Sexual Assault (SASA) held the second “What Were You Wearing” exhibit in the SUB ballrooms on Oct. 27, which highlighted the stories of sexual assault survivors to spread awareness on the issue.

SASA is a student-led club that hosts events dedicated to promoting healthy relationships. “We work very closely with the Voice Center, and our members are advocates, but we are completely separate,” SASA president Miller Rijfkogel said.

This was the exhibit’s second showing, with the first happening around the same time last year, according to Rijfkogel. This year the exhibit expanded, adding new sections to further highlight the impact of the stories being told.

The section titled “What Were You Wearing?” featured clothing and stories from sexual assault survivors, and was located along the east wall of the ballroom. The clothes were donated by Sacks Thrift Store and would be returned there after the exhibit was taken down. “The only returning story this year is the prom dress,” with every other story and set of clothes being new to the exhibit, Rijfkogel said.

According to Rijfkogel, the first year the exhibit opened the organization saw probably less than ten people walk through the entire day. “But the people that did walk through found it really impactful,” they said.

This year, attendance went up significantly. “We’ve had at least twenty-five people come through already today,” SASA club Secretary Nathan Clark said, with the event being only half-over at the time of his interview.

There were several new additions to the exhibit this year according to Rijfkogel. The “What Did You Need to Hear?” section,which focused on affirmations for survivors and allowed attendees to write positive messages for them as well. The “What Did You Hear?”section included quotes that each survivor provided from people in their lives whom they told about the assault, as well as their relationship to that person. The “Why Didn’t You Report?”section included testimonies provided by the survivors  for why they did not report the sexual assault incidents.

A table in the northwest corner of the room housed yet another new addition. According to Rijfkogel, assistant professor of sociology and anthropology Veronica Shepp reached out to the organization last semester to have her students work on zines – student-made mini magazines – to have available at SASA events. The zines adorned the table with student art, poetry and other writing covering important topics including sexual assault.

With the scale of the event and attendance rate increasing the event remained heavily impactful, according to the SASA officer team and exhibit viewers alike. “If a student hadn’t told me about it I probably wouldn’t be here, but I’m glad they did. It’s good to hear real stories,” associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry Nick Stadie said while viewing the exhibit on Friday. 

When asked if the exhibit would become an annual occurrence, Rijfkogel said, “I really hope so, it just depends on next year's officers.” This is a sentiment with which her fellow officers agreed in full.

More information on SASA’s mission, goals and upcoming events can be found on CatsConnect through the club portal. https://www.montana.edu/catsconnect/.