Members and supporters of F--kRapeCulture, a new student social change organization, took to the streets Friday for a rally and march with the invitation to participants to dress as they wanted — including being topless.
“Girls can be topless, wearing a bra, but no matter what, that’s still not consent,” said Claire Chadwick, co-founder of F--kRapeCulture and a junior studying sociology, in a previous Post article.
Almost 100 men and women marched through the streets of Athens to push back against campus rape culture. However, this was not the first time Ohio University students have publicly advocated for what they believe. A history of protest and activism on the Athens campus spans decades, most notably erupting in violent discord in the late ’60s and early ’70s.
The period was a time of social change, said Andy Alexander, visiting professional for the Scripps College of Communication and editor of The Post in 1970.
“I think intellectually it was a very gripping time to be on campus,” he said. “When I left here it had turned 180 degrees from when I arrived.”
Back then things like the Vietnam War, the mandatory draft and the Civil Rights Movement were the topics on the docket. Although the issues might not be the same, students’ drive for change is still evident.
In the past month, Student Senate and Alpha Phi Alpha organized a march against police brutality toward the black community. Last spring saw a slew of protests regarding tuition hikes, including a “Raise Hell, Not Tuition” event that resulted in four students getting arrested after a sit-in at the Board of Trustees meeting.
Jessica Lindner, a junior studying environmental and plant biology, was one of these students. Since she’s arrived at OU, advocacy on campus has grown positively, she said.
“Seeing all of the support we got after the Board of Trustees meeting last spring affirmed my belief in the importance of activism,” Lindner said. “It showed me that we weren’t alone, and that we had friends in areas of university and community life that I never knew of before. It was good to know that people recognized the importance of the issues and were willing to support students working to effect change.”
Another one of the students arrested at the meeting, Megan Marzec, a junior studying studio art, said she received an amazing amount of support, even financially, through an online fundraising site to clear the legal fees associated with the protest.
“I think people aren’t feeling so small anymore,” she said. “They aren’t afraid to show their concerns and show their anger. … I’m really happy to see it.”
Although Marzec and Lindner were arrested for their actions, the F--kRapeCulture rally received little to no police involvement. OU Police Chief Andrew Powers said he didn’t know it was happening until the group paused at the intersection of Union and Court streets.
Powers said there is no template for handling any large assembly on campus, but generally, if he hasn’t spoken to organizers ahead of time, he likes to check in to make sure everything is running smoothly.
Organizations such as F--kRapeCulture and OU’s Student Union allow students to organize around topics they care about. One of the biggest ways protesting has grown is social media, Chadwick said.
“At least with my peer group, a lot of people are fed up with the status quo and feel empowered enough to make actual changes,” she said. “Activism has always been prevalent, it’s just a matter of how much people are listening.”
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