April

Fashion statement? Social statement? Both.

Combat sexual violence by wearing denim April 25 and donating to help create a safer campus community.

April 23, 2018

The Phoenix Center at Auraria is hosting their annual Denim Day awareness campaign, and you can show your support by wearing jeans or making a donation.

“Interpersonal violence does, unfortunately, impact MSU Denver students in significant ways,” said Braelin Pantel, associate vice president of Student Engagement & Wellness and dean of students. “Along with the Phoenix Center, we are committed to educating our community on effective prevention strategies and responses to reduce the number of incidents and to support survivors.”

Denim Day is a national campaign taking place the last Wednesday in April as part of Sexual Violence Awareness Month. The campaign functioned originally as a response to a ruling issued in 1998 by the Italian Supreme Court overturning a rape conviction because the victim had worn tight jeans. In their ruling, the jurists stated: “Because the victim wore very, very tight jeans, she had to help him remove them ... and by removing the jeans ... it was no longer rape but consensual sex.”

Faculty, staff and students are asked to make a social statement with their fashion by wearing jeans on this day as a visible means of protest against the misconceptions that surround sexual assault.

In addition to wearing denim April 25, you can contribute to the crowd-funded effort to reinforce the notion that manner of dress does not equate to consent.

“A donation through this Denim Day campaign will enable us to bring meaningful educational programming to our community,” Pantel said.