EVENT Oct 8: March Against Sexual Violence VIdeo and Commentary

On October 8, Minnesota Abortion Access Committee hosted a march to demand justice for Jane Doe at Cornell University and all survivors of sexual violence. It was well attended and generally well received by attendees, marchers and the University of Minnesota community where it was held. There was a strong contrast once the march hit the area know as “Frat Row”. You can see the even in it’s entirely below and read a recent Letter to the Editor on the event submitted by a board member of Women’s March MN Action Fund.

And a letter to the editor in the Minnesota Star Tribune from WMMAF board member…

Everyone needed to prevent this

Closing your fraternity door on a march against sexual violence is not a good look.

A big thank you to the planners (Minnesota Abortion Access Committee) of the march held Oct. 8 in support of justice for Jane Doe and all sexual violence survivors held near and on the University of Minnesota’s Minneapolis campus. The speakers at the rally were passionate and thoughtful, with heartbreaking stories. Attendees built an immediate community that felt safe and supported. As we began to march to the campus, we gathered more people, who marched with us and joined in the chants.

For most of the march, most of the bystanders were supportive. Some biked hurriedly by or seemed to slow down or speed up to avoid interaction, but most were all in. Until we got to the fraternities on University Avenue. The first couple houses were dark, with no sign of life, but toward the end of the block we could see frat members sitting on their majestic porches. Then they saw us and scurried inside and shut the doors, and most did not even look out the window.

They literally closed their door on a march against sexual violence. I don’t know if they were embarrassed because many march posters condemned the Cornell Seven, who were also in a fraternity. I don’t know if they support sexual violence or at least support handling allegations with leniency. I do know it’s a terrible look for those men, the fraternities and, by extension, for the university. I worry about what these men would do if they were to encounter sexual violence happening in their street. Would they still close the door? Hide their faces? Try not to be seen?

This is not a time to be silent. And it’s not a time to condone silence. Not in the men around us, the fraternities, the universities or our elected officials.

Ann Treacy, St. Paul

The writer is a Women’s March MN Action Fund board member and vice president of ERA Minnesota.