CAITLIN WHITE
Staff Writer
When passing through the Sandbar this week, students may have noticed an unusual sight, the mural for the Eve Project, a student-lead group advocating sexual violence awareness.
The Eve Project is an endeavor to stop sexual violence that asked the Pepperdine Community to fill in the blank, “When sexual violence ends, I will…”. The responses were collected and exhibited with the photo of each contributor. Along with the mural were video tapes of participants responses to the question, and a table with information from the Santa Monica Rape Treatment Center.
Senior Julie Dlugokecki, the founder of the Eve Project, was very happy with the turn- out for the project.
“We had 317 participants, including students, staff and faculty, which was our goal, to have the entire Pepperdine community involved,” she said.
Of the 317 individuals, 30 to 40 percent were men, another aspect that marked the event as a success to Dlugokecki and her volunteers.
“I think it spoke highly of Pepperdine’s sensitivity to the topic,” Dlugokecki said.
Becca Sack, a freshman volunteer for the project echoed Dlugokecki’s sentiments.
“I loved how many guys turned out; it really showed how the whole campus was behind it,” Sack said. “It is definitely an issue that concerns them too, because when you think about it, all men have a sister or a mother or a daughter.”
The Eve Project isn’t just confined to this artistic call for attention, however, since Dlugokecki has worked hard to get the message out through as many ways as she can.
Her supervisor in the Intercultural Affairs Office, Kerri Heath, said she is impressed by Dlugokecki’s drive.
“It was so easy to work with Julie,” Heath said.
“Her passion is contagious, and she had such a creative vision about how to educate the campus on this issue.”
As her supervisor, Heath helped Dlugokecki deal with getting things approved on campus, any funding that was required, and acted as a liaison whenever Associate Dean Tabitha Jones had to be contacted. But Heath insists her help was barely needed,
“Julie did everything; she is such a strong leader. She came to me for advice, but she was on top of everything,” Heath said.
There are other Eve Project related activities this week.
Wednesday night, a self-defense class was held in the Fireside Room. It is free to the first 50 to 75 participants and features the instructions of Olivier Gruner, who is a world kick boxing champion, and has starred in several movies including Nemesis and The Circuit.
The regularly held, Campus Recreation kickboxing classes are being held without a fee Tuesday and Thursday as an alternative in case students can’t make the self-defense class. Dlugokecki said students are encouraged to attend if they were unable to make the self defense class. They are held in the Tennis Pavilion and are open to all in the Pepperdine community.
“We are hosting the self-defense class because the fear of sexual violence is still present, and it’s important for students to know how to defend themselves in case of an unsafe situation,” Dlugokecki said.
Also, at the weekly president’s luncheon, in which presidents of social action and justice groups such as the Wishing Well Initiative and Amnesty International meet, a focus group will be held on the issue of sexual violence.
“It will just discuss what Pepperdine does well, and what we need to work on involving the issue of sexual violence, and they will be able to give us feedback about the week,” Dlugokecki said.
A short presentation on the Eve Project will also be coming up on March 7th, at Wednesday morning Convo. A short video will be shown, and senior Jessica Childress will be performing a song she wrote about the project, which she called “Until We See The Sun”.
Dlugokecki and the Eve Project volunteers will display the mural throughout this week in Sandbar. The mural is extensive, and the artwork was done by Malibu resident and Actvst club member Justin Brauer.
Shirts to support the project will also be available for a suggested donation of $10. Proceeds go either to the Eve Project or the Santa Monica Rape Treatment Center. Volunteers from the Rape Treatment Center will be available, as will counselors from Pepperdine’s own Health Center.
Dlugokecki said she is proud of the project and the way the community came out to support her.
“I’m really pleased with how it turned out,” she said.
“I feel like the end product really fulfills the vision.”
02-22-2007
