Vandalism is Violence Too

The following was written by students in Erin Kenny's WGST 101 class and appeared in the Drury Mirror online.


Dear Drury Community,

We are writing to comment on the recent vandalism to signs posted to raise awareness of violence against women in our community.

It is ironic that acts of violence were perpetrated against such signs; e.g., the signs that were removed and destroyed across campus, but perhaps most symbolically, the signs in Springfield Hall that were ripped down and urinated upon.

Whether you are directly involved in this incident or not, this kind of behavior affects every member of our community. Is Drury really ok with violence against women?

We ask the women of our community: Do you feel comfortable on a campus where the mere act of naming violence provokes more violence?

Some will say this wasn't "really" violence. No one was actually harmed.

We disagree.

While no one was physically harmed, this act attempted to silence members of our community who were trusting enough to share their stories. We call that oppressive. We call that violent. We call that harmful.

We want to point out that this is not the first act of aggression that has occurred on campus to innocent posters. What's so threatening about paper handprints and paper T-shirts? What even made someone take the time to tear it down? We suggest it is because our community does not take violence against women seriously enough.

We also want to point out that considerable time and energy was spent on this project by fellow Drury students, and that the money for these cut-outs did not come from student fees. Permission was granted from facilities services to post these signs.

We'd like to ask members of the Drury campus to weigh in on this debate. We encourage you to comment on The Mirror Web site (after this letter appears; you need an account and a login name to comment), or druryposters.blogspot.com.

The following people stand together in support of the content of this editorial: Mackenzie Love; Lawren Askinosie; Stefan Borg; Dominique Carney; Alex Dillard; Connor Eastman; Kayley Edwards; Aleshia Fenimore; Leah Gould; Bailey Greene; Caitlyn Greene; Jocelyn Haufle; Rachael Hazell; Lisa Hellmich; Logan Hoffman; Jonathan Thomas; Jeromy Layman; Derek Jenkins; Elizabeth Lay; Brittanie Lewis; Whitney Licis; Shanna Nelson; Adam Pitchford; Jonathan Vogt; Chelsea Weaver; Alexandra Duello; Taylor Zink; Taylor Thorn; Elizabeth Jones; Hollee Hagen; Kevin Ritter; Jessica Elam; Sarah Radke; Sara Werneke; Mallory Higgins; Conrad Remington; Hunter O'Neal; Kaitlin Vaughn; Claire Schmotzer; Sarah Verdone; Matthew Frierdich; Bonnie Lyons; Evan Coyne; Kristen Kramlich; Jessica Schneider; Carrie Morrow; Lisa Sifferman; Michaela Slama; Hollee Hagen; Nicole Dismore; Jocelyn Haufle; Katie Thompson; Stan Maxson; Dalston Ward; Jeremy Fuzy; Sarah McBride; Caitlin Pierce; Julie Hellmich; Tanner Roberts; Cecily Miller; Rachael Williams; Kelsey Kennell; Lindsay Johnson; Sarah Radke; Molly Rose Fehringer; Alexa Pointdexter; Sarah Dobbs; Ashley Fears; Sami Lester; Sarah Warfield; Laura Lovinger; Rachel Regan; Elyssa Smith; Liz Oakley; Ellie Galler; A. L. Marstellar; Jo Van Arkel; Jayne White; Mary Utley; Elizabeth Nichols; Rebecca Miller; Hueping Chin; Robin Miller; Saundra Weddle; Patricia McEachern; Laurie Edmondson; Michael Hill; Teresa Hornsby; Rebecca Denton; Regina Waters; Steve Mullins; Erin Kenny