The Students Against Sexual Assault (SASA) club partnered with the CommuniCare club and leadership classes to open the “I See Her, I Hear Her, I Believe Her” exhibit in room 138 on March 7. The exhibit features artwork, the stories of survivors of sexual assault, and a space for others to leave uplifting messages.

The groups started brainstorming the project in January and then began working in February. Now, after months of work from SASA, CommuniCare, and student leadership, room 138 has been transformed into a space where the stories of survivors are shared and women’s history is celebrated.

Ms. Maher and senior Mia Kritzer, the leader of the SASA club, came up with the idea for the exhibit while talking in the La Salle parking lot, brainstorming how they could get people “to see and understand the normalization of rape culture,” Ms. Maher said. “It was a little fiery moment in the parking lot of like, ‘What if we just shared our stories?’”

And so a sharing of women’s stories is what ensued. 

The wall inside of room 138 across from the doorway is plastered with white papers where the stories of sexual assault survivors are written. The stories are personal, real, and emphasize the power and weight that women’s voices can have.

“I’m really lucky that we all had that much support with this exhibit,” Kritzer said. “Because, you know, the issue of sexual assault was very touchy. And so having that much support, that many people who wanted to help out with the exhibit and really cared about the mission was really incredible.

After the initial idea was formed, subsequent parts of the project came together “very organically” Ms. Maher said. Students “put all the black paper up, they just kind of threw it all together in a very real and sacred and organic way that was very cool,” she said. “It was powerful.”

Kritzer found that joining forces with CommuniCare to put on the exhibit was valuable because, “Students Against Sexual Assault mainly, is focused on raising awareness and bringing this issue to light and standing up and using voice, whereas CommuniCare is more action-oriented,” she said. 

For Nyah Torbert, the leader of CommuniCare club, contributing to the exhibit was “really meaningful,” she said. “Also upsetting, like looking at all of the statistics and stuff I had never gone that into depth, like learning about it and how common it is, and how little it’s recognized.”

“I feel like the initial response towards the SASA club was, ‘Well, that doesn’t happen at La Salle, that doesn’t happen here,’ and I feel like our initial idea was to show actually it does happen here,” Kritzer said. “There are so many survivors of sexual violence of all degrees that want to share their story.”

This initial idea of allowing survivors the opportunity to offer their experiences eventually expanded beyond what members of the SASA club originally envisioned for the project. “We wanted to give an opportunity for victims, specifically women, to have an opportunity to share their voice during Women’s History Month, but then it just kind of evolved,” Kritzer said. “And we kept thinking like, ‘Wow, we have so many creative talented minds here at La Salle … why can’t we just make it a big exhibit and really give it the time and space that it deserves?’”

To Ms. Maher, the experience of helping put the exhibit together and watching students and teachers walk through was “sacred.” Compiling the stories from posts and websites online and from the La Salle community was a powerful experience. “We crafted their statements together and kind of gave it power, gave something that was really icky and horrible and traumatic power, which is very cool,” Ms. Maher said. 

Throughout the month of March, Ms. Maher has found that the exhibit has only grown. “It’s been really amazing to see people very moved by it,” she said. “Every time [students] go through, I’ve gotten some messages that say, ‘I want to add my story,’” she said. 

As someone who spent a lot of time in the exhibit, and has helped build the exhibit from the ground up along with Ms. Maher and the other clubs, Kritzer has noticed a discrepancy in responses. “The feedback has been really overwhelmingly positive from the women,” she said. “But then I also get that feedback where it’s like, well, not a lot of boys are showing up. Not a lot of men really want to come see this exhibit. And that’s disappointing, but I can say that it’s probably overwhelming to see strong women speaking up and sharing their story. I feel like it can be a lot for anyone to take in.”

Kritzer wants viewers to stay true to the purpose of the HERstory exhibit. While she understands the discomfort that comes with reading sexual assault victims’ accounts can be overwhelming, “I would challenge them to get out of their comfort zone,” Kritzer said. “I feel like one of the major points of that exhibit is pointing out there are people who have faced so much discomfort, and I feel like the least that you could do for them is listen actively and come into the exhibit with a mindset of ‘Okay, I’m here to learn. I’m here to take in all of this information and see where these women are coming from.’”

Ms. Maher believes that the exhibit is special because it “is landing in a very different way than would have been if it was an assembly,” she said. “You can’t ignore, if you’re standing in front of that sacred wall, you can’t not see it.”

Seeing the exhibit open, Torbert said she has been excited to see teachers bringing their classes through. “I think that it shows that people are starting to recognize how important it is and that we are giving the students opportunities to learn about it,” she said.