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Picture from the Clothesline Project showing t-shirts hung up across Mckeldin Mall
Picture from the Clothesline Project showing t-shirts hung up across Mckeldin Mall
Original photo by Casey Glickman
Maryland | Wellness

Clothesline Project raises awareness of domestic violence at UMD

Emily Andrade Student Contributor, University of Maryland
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Maryland chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

University of Maryland students displayed t-shirts bearing messages of pain, resilience and support at Hornbake Plaza on Oct. 7 as part of the Clothesline Project.

The installation, organized by the university’s CARE to Stop Violence organization, invited students to create and hang shirts with personal stories or messages of support to raise awareness for sexual and relationship violence during Domestic Violence Awareness Month. 

The Clothesline Project, which began in Massachusetts in 1990, provides a platform for communities to show support and for survivors of domestic violence and abuse to share their experiences, said Bri Hayes, coordinator of outreach and assessment in the CARE to Stop Violence office.

The CARE organization provides resources for students and staff affected by power-based violence, including trained advocates and therapists, Hayes said.

“It was just a project, a visual project, to support survivors of sexual assault and abuse,” Hayes said. “Having something visually displayed throughout the day just to show the different and current letters of encouragement that people on campus kind of create on the shirts.”

The shirts varied in tone and content. Some featured general messages such as “peace, love and stop domestic violence,” while others included deeply personal stories. The project allows participants to share as much or as little as they feel comfortable, Hayes said.

“It gives survivors a space to use their autonomy to disclose and share their own story,” Hayes said.

For some students, the display was unexpected but impactful. Elizabeth Covino, a sophomore biology major, said the shirts left a strong impression.

“I was just walking by on my way to class, and I was just kind of curious because why are we hanging shirts?” Covino said. “So then I started reading them and seeing the different messages and it was a lot more intense than I expected.”

Organizers of the project hope it encourages dialogue and healing, Hayes said.

“You don’t know; that could be the moment that makes a survivor want to get the help that they need, so that they can heal,” Hayes said.

Emily Andrade

Maryland '29

Emily is a current undergraduate student at The University of Maryland double majoring in journalism and government and politics. She is involved in several on campus publications.