A letter from senior leadership regarding Denim Day
Dear Marquette community,
As our campus observes Sexual Assault Awareness Month, we want to take a moment to pause and remind everyone that sexual violence is a crime that affects everyone — it has no place at Marquette University or in our world.
More than 1 in 3 women and nearly 1 in 4 men have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact at some point in their lives, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As a Catholic, Jesuit university, we do not tolerate acts of sexual violence and vow to fully support victims when we learn of sexual violence incidents. Through Advocacy Services and the Title IX office, Marquette offers a variety of resources to report incidents and receive support. We encourage you to speak up if you witness acts of sexual violence or are a victim of such acts.
As a symbol of our firm stance against sexual violence — and to show our support for survivors — we ask everyone to wear jeans Wednesday, April 24, which is the international celebration of Denim Day.
Many of you might remember that Denim Day began as a protest of a 1997 Italian court case in which a convicted rapist’s sentence was overturned. The court ruled that because the teenage victim’s jeans were tight, the victim must have assisted in their removal, thereby making the sex act consensual. Enraged by the verdict, the women in the Italian Parliament protested the ruling by wearing jeans to work the next day.
This Wednesday, join us in wearing denim and tag your social media posts with #MarquetteDenimDay to join the national conversation on this important topic. A visual display will be in Central Mall from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Information tables will be available from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. with program beginning at noon; MUPD Chief Hudson will be the highlighted speaker. Pizza will be provided.
Learn more about Denim Day at Marquette online.
We can make a statement against sexual violence, and together, we can make our community safer for everyone.
Sincerely,
Dr. Kimo Ah Yun
Acting provost and executive vice president of academic affairs
Joel Pogodzinski, Bus Ad ‘94
Senior vice president and chief operating officer
Edith Hudson
Chief, Marquette University Police Department
Dr. Xavier Cole
Vice president for student affairs