Ribbons Denounce Violence

There’s a flurry of white ribbons across campus as Harvard continues a week-long campaign against violence toward women.

Students are wearing ribbons from Dec. 6 to Dec. 13 to show their support for the international movement, which is sponsored here by the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (OSAPR) and an assortment of student groups and administrative bodies.

“It’s to raise dialogue, bring it out to the open,” said Matthew G. Kessler ’09, a member of Harvard Men Against Rape, which is supporting the cause. “It’s an issue that’s not very discussed.”

Ribbons will be available in the Science Center and at various dining halls through Thursday. Donning a white ribbon is a personal pledge never to commit, condone, or remain silent about violence against women, according to the White Ribbon Campaign Web site.

The movement was started in 1991 by a group of men in Canada in response to the 1989 Montreal Massacre, in which 14 women were shot and killed. This is the second year the ribbon campaign has infiltrated Harvard Yard.

“We just gave it a shot here last year,” said Gordon W. Braxton, a prevention specialist in the OSAPR who first became familiar with the movement during his undergraduate years at the University of Virginia.

The undertaking is “very low intensity, which can be both good and bad,” Braxton said. “It’s good because we like a campaign where all you have to do is put on a ribbon. It’s bad because it’s only so deep at that level.”

In addition to distributing ribbons and signing pledges, the campaign included a discussion in Sever Hall last night about the history and future of anti-violence movements.

So far the push has been successful, the organizers said. Four thousand ribbons were ordered and “we could easily run out,” Braxton said.

And while the campaign is primarily directed at males, many women across campus are also sporting the ribbons, organizers said.

Although some passers-by skirted a white ribbon booth set up in front of the Dudley Café, one man asked for three ribbons to wear on different days this week, said Emilie M. Dressaire, a graduate student and a Sexual Assault Sexual Harrassment adviser.

“People are interested,” she said. “Some of them say it’s a very easy statement to sign for.”

The campaign is also sponsored by Harvard Athletics, the OSAPR Student Alliance, the Freshman Dean’s Office, the Undergraduate Council, and the Harvard University Police Department.