Bring red scarves to ECC event Feb. 14 opposing abuse and violence

On Tuesday, Feb. 14, Elgin Community College will host "The Long Red Line," a community effort to help create change through self-expression, surviving abuse, growing self-esteem, raising children nonviolently, and developing and supporting community resources. The event will be held from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in the Building B Jobe Lounge, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin. Admission is free and open to the public.

"The Long Red Line" is Elgin's effort to support One Billion Rising, a global upsurge of women and their allies in resistance to rape and all forms of interpersonal violence that is in its fifth year. Central to "The Long Red Line" is the red scarf, which participants are invited to bring to the event. The scarves can be any length, made of any material, and can be any shade of red.

People have been creating scarves for "The Long Red Line" since fall 2013. Vicki Rae Thorne, one of the event's organizers, brought the idea to the Elgin committee.

"Red symbolizes blood, vitality, passion, courage, sexuality and aggression," Thorne said. "In dreams, seeing a scarf can symbolize self-restriction or feeling silenced and the voice muffled. Wearing a scarf in your dream can symbolize a need to take action. The material scarves represent self-restriction and silence - our muffled voices - that are transformed into statements of freedom from shame and blame."

This year, knitters from the Elgin branch of the American Association of University Women have joined "The Long Red Line" to knit sections of the scarf, using different yarns and stitches to represent AAUW's diversity. The sections will all be connected into a single scarf, symbolizing connection to each other in the community. Those scarves will be connected with others brought by participants.

The theme for 2017 "The Long Red Line" is consent. The event will feature speakers and resources that will be emphasizing the legal aspects of how to know that you've given consent or received consent, community support, and stories shared by survivors of sexual assault.

"The Long Red Line" is sponsored by the ECC Student Life Office, the Community Crisis Center, Fox Valley Citizens for Peace and Justice, Coalition of Elgin Religious Leaders, Elgin YWCA, Ecker Center for Mental Health, Unitarian Universalist Church of Elgin, AAUW and the Open Door Clinic.

For information, call Amybeth Maurer, ECC director of orientation and student life, at (847) 214-7370.